The San Diego-based aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, deployed in the Western Pacific, is pulling into Guam to test its entire crew for COVID-19, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said today at a Pentagon press briefing.

At least eight sailors on board have tested positive for the virus, but a Thursday Wall Street Journal report puts the actual number at 23.

For the record: This story was updated with to clarify that it is not known whether the crew of the amphibious transport dock San Diego will be allowed to disembark from the ship upon its return to San Diego.

“The ship is pulling into Guam,” Modly said, adding that its crew will remain at the pier as testing is done. “No one on the crew will be allowed to leave anywhere into Guam other than pierside.”

Roosevelt completed a port call in Da Nang, Vietnam, early in March, though Navy leaders say that because crew come and go from the ship frequently while at sea they can’t yet say how the virus got on board.


In a statement, Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations, said the stop in Guam was already scheduled for the Roosevelt.

“USS Theodore Roosevelt is in Guam on a previously-scheduled port visit,” Gilday said Thursday. “The resources at our naval medical facilities in Guam will allow us to more effectively test, isolate and if necessary treat Sailors. We expect additional positive tests...”

Gilday said no sailors are seriously ill.

“We are taking this threat very seriously and are working quickly to identify and isolate positive cases while preventing further spread of the virus aboard the ship,” he said. “No Sailors have been hospitalized or are seriously ill. We are confident that our aggressive response will keep USS Theodore Roosevelt able to respond to any crisis in the region.”


Thursday’s announcement comes as three amphibious ships in San Diego — the Makin Island, the Somerset and the San Diego — say their crews will be confined on board the ships starting Thursday for at least 14 days.

Cmdr. John Fage, a spokesman for the San Diego-based 3rd Fleet, said the decision was made to protect crews of the ships from the spreading coronavirus, which has been found on several vessels in San Diego.

As of Thursday, the San Diego is out to sea but will return to San Diego soon. It is unclear whether its crew will be allowed off the ship before its lockdown begins.

Thursday marked the largest one-day jump in confirmed coronavirus cases in the Navy as the service announced 30 more sailors have tested positive — including two more on a San Diego-based ship.


New Navy COVID-19 cases were reported at facilities in Memphis, Tenn., Atlanta, Ga., and Newport, R.I. Overseas, sailors in Yokosuka, Japan, Gaeta, Italy and Rota, Spain each had positive cases.

The Navy also announced 17 more cases on an unnamed ship at sea in the Pacific.