Beleaguered Navy ship starts seeing crew return

WASHINGTON — Navy sailors who have been quarantined on Guam for weeks were to begin moving back to the USS Theodore Roosevelt on Tuesday night, U.S. officials said. A coronavirus outbreak sidelined the aircraft carrier in late March.

Hundreds of sailors were expected to reboard the ship over the next several days after spending about a month in gyms, hotels and other facilities while the ship was cleaned, officials said. The sailors were expected to begin moving back during the late evening and overnight Eastern time, which would be Wednesday in Guam.

Their move back to the ship marks a critical turning point in a drama that has rocked the Navy leadership, led to the firing of the Roosevelt’s captain and affected the fleet across the Pacific, a region critical to America’s national security interests. And it signals that the carrier is inching its way back into service.

Officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss events ahead of the announcement.

More than 4,000 of the roughly 4,800 crew members had been taken off the ship. As of Tuesday, 940 sailors had tested positive for the virus and 29 had recovered. Sailors must have two successive negative tests before they are considered virus-free. Only then can they return to the ship.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases aboard the USS Kidd rose to 64 as the Navy destroyer pulled into port in San Diego on Tuesday to get medical care for the crew and to disinfect and decontaminate the ship.