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COVID-19 infected sailors on US carrier quarantined in Guam

The US Navy has promised that infected sailors would stay isolated away from local residents and crew, the Governor said in her daily online press briefing on Friday.

COVID-19 infected sailors on US carrier quarantined in Guam

Staff members work inside a field hospital at Rafah crossing border in the southern Gaza Strip (Photo: IANS)

Lou Leon Guerrero, the Governor of Guam, has confirmed that a group of American Navy sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt infected with the novel coronavirus have been quarantined on the US island territory.

As of Friday, at least 30 sailors on board the aircraft carrier have tested positive for the COVID-19, Xinhua news agency quoted reports by Fox News and ABC News as saying.

The US Navy has promised that infected sailors would stay isolated away from local residents and crew, the Governor said in her daily online press briefing on Friday.

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Guerrero said, “They assured me that the military will follow CDC (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines with isolation and quarantine”.

“As the Governor of Guam, I have the authority to turn away a civilian cruise vessel; that authority does not extend to vessels necessary to national security. The admiral understands how seriously I am taking this, and he understands that my ultimate duty is to keep Guam as safe as possible.” she said.

On Wednesday, US sailors from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, the first cases reported on a US Navy ship currently on deployment.

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas B. Modly told media that the three have been evacuated and all those they had come into contact with on the vessel, which has more than 5,000 personnel on board, have been quarantined.

Last month, an additional 99 people had tested positive for coronavirus on a cruise ship off the Japan coast.

The US was the first country to evacuate its citizens from the ship but Australia, Canada, Italy, and Hong Kong have indicated they will follow suit. On land, cases in Japan rose to 65, with authorities warning that the outbreak is entering a “new phase” and advising people to avoid large gatherings.

China has reported 54 new imported Coronavirus cases, taking their tally in the last few days to 649.

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