Quoting two Naval Academy classmates of Capt. Brett E. Crozier, the New York Times reported that Crozier, who was relieved as captain of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and began exhibiting symptoms of the disease before he left the ship Friday.

According to the Times, Crozier was being quarantined at a "distinguished visitors quarters" on Naval Base Guam, "dealing with a dry raspy cough."

Crozier was fired four days after he pleaded for help as the coronavirus ravaged his crew on the Roosevelt. Crozier had sent an urgent letter to the U.S. Navy, seeking to evacuate and isolate the crew as cases of coronavirus infection increased on the vessel. The letter, which was published in the San Francisco Chronicle, had been sent out broadly via email, creating "panic" on the vessel, according to Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who said Crozier had "exercised extremely poor judgment."

Meanwhile, according to a Navy news release, Vice Adm. Bill Merz, commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet arrived on Guam to support the ongoing recovery effort on the Nimitz-class carrier, and met with the crew and area leadership.

According to Merz, “The team in Guam has shown enormous spirit and focus getting this ship healthy again. Know that every day, regardless of what the challenge may be, my number one priority is to sustain the warfighting posture of 7th Fleet."

Merz said the sailors aboard are the most important element of that effort.

“We simply cannot execute the mission of defending our interests, our friends, and our allies without the fighting spirit of the immensely capable men and women of this team," Merz said.

Merz visited locations on Naval Base Guam over the weekend, discussing logistics and the ship recovery process with counterparts from Joint Region Marianas, Carrier Strike Group Nine and the Naval Base Guam commanding officer.

The Roosevelt arrived in Guam March 27 for a scheduled port visit. Prior to the port visit, three sailors tested positive for COVID-19 aboard the ship. The Navy has undertaken an aggressive mitigation plan that is currently isolating, quarantining, and treating affected Sailors to keep the ship prepared to execute its mission.