Navy officials said Thursday that 93 sailors of the USS Theodore Roosevelt tested positive for COVID-19, and hundreds of those who have tested negative would be moved off the ship into Guam hotel rooms in the next couple of days.

Joint Region Marianas Commander Rear Adm. John Menoni on Thursday announced the first group of USS Theodore Roosevelt sailors who tested negative would be shuttled to a hotel to quarantine between Thursday afternoon and Friday afternoon.

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This group doesn’t include 1,000 sailors who are on Naval Base Guam, according to Menoni.

"In the next couple of days, we expect to have about 2,700 of them off the ship," said acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly at a Pentagon news briefing Thursday morning, Guam time.

According to Chief of Naval Operations Mike Gilday, by Friday there would be nearly 3,000 available beds and spaces for the crew.

Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association President Mary Rhodes said seven hotels have been identified for the Navy. The seven hotels identified have at least 300 available rooms each. No other guests are in the hotels, and no major hotel operations are ongoing, according to Rhodes. They’re also centrally located.

Menoni told Guam senators on Thursday sailors will be going to the Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort with a small group of about 180 and then sailors will be going to the Dusit Thani Guam.

Rhodes said sailors will be moved in groups of 100 to 500 per transfer.

With flights canceled and Guam’s main tourist markets fighting their own battles with coronavirus, local hotels have been vacant in recent weeks.

Only sailors who test negative will quarantine off-base

Only sailors who tested negative and who are asymptomatic will be quarantined off base in hotels, Menoni and Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero stressed.

“Sailors will only be permitted to depart the base following a negative COVID-19 test result and they must remain in quarantine in their assigned rooms for the duration of the mandatory 14-day quarantine by lawful order of their chain of command and in full support of the governor’s executive order,” Menoni said.

Military leadership will be present throughout the lodging to ensure sailors adhere to quarantine protocols, Menoni added. The sailors will stay in their rooms and won’t have contact with hotel staff, he said.

“These sailors will be transported by military vehicles to lodging and will not come in contact with the local community during transportation or their stay in our hotel,” Menoni said.

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero also said not every sailor who tests negative will be housed outside the base.

Negative test might not detect virus

According to the CDC, a person could test negative and still have been infected. The test might not detect the virus in the person’s system.

“A negative test result means that the virus that causes COVID-19 was not found in the person’s sample. In the early stages of infection, it is possible the virus will not be detected,” the CDC stated on it’s website.

In the hotels, Navy will provide medical staff to check on quarantined sailors daily, Leon Guerrero said.

Should a sailor in quarantine test positive, he or she will be sent to Naval Hospital Guam for isolation and appropriate treatment, Leon Guerrero said.

“I want to assure our people that these individuals that do become positive do not impact our health care system at all,” the governor said. “The Navy has their own health care system and they would be treated in their health care facilities.”

1,200 tested

In about seven days, Naval Hospital Guam will be able to conduct COVID-19 tests, according to Menoni.

Modly said at Pentagon news briefing on Thursday that 24%, or 1,273 sailors, had been tested so far and Navy officials were working to get hundreds off the ship for isolation and monitoring.

He also said none of the sailors are seriously ill. As of Thursday, 93 sailors tested positive for the virus and 593 tested negative, Modly said. Some of the test results hadn’t come back by the time Modly spoke to reporters at the Pentagon Thursday.

Not all sailors will be removed from the ship. Modly said the ship requires a certain number of people on board to maintain safety and security. With sailors quarantined off the ship, it will allow those onboard to practice social distancing, officials said.

“Part of the reason we’re asking for more space off the ship is to be able to spread the crew out and give them space where they can be isolated,” Modly said. “That’s why hotels are actually a pretty good place to put people.”

As sailors use hotels outside the fence for quarantine, the governor said she’s asked the Department of Defense for critical supplies such as masks, gowns, eye gear and ventilators.

Guam has 47 ventilators for adults and six for children, officials have said.

“I’m confident that DOD leadership on Guam and in the nation’s capital will work hard to fulfill our request,” Leon Guerrero said.

Enforcement

Both Leon Guerrero and Menoni said sailors will follow quarantine instructions. Beaches are closed to the quarantined crew, the governor previously said.

"They will abide our local laws and they do have to comply with our conditions," Leon Guerrero said.

Rear Adm. Stuart Baker, commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, issued a direct order to each of the sailors, according to Menoni.

The orders will be in each of the sailors’ hands instructing them to stay in quarantine.

“Any sailor who violates that lawful order will be subject to uniform code of military justice,” Menoni said. “I have to assure the people of Guam and our local military community I take this deadly seriously. There is nobody that’s going to violate an order on my watch and get away with it.”

According to Rhodes, there will be no movement outside the rooms. Outside food, guests and alcohol won’t be allowed, she said.

Guam's hotel room capacity

Pacific Islands Club: 777

Hilton Guam Resort & Spa: 646

LeoPalace Resort Guam: 618

Outrigger Guam Beach Resort: 600

Guam Plaza Resort: 501

Hotel Nikko Guam: 492

Hyatt Regency Guam: 450

Pacific Star Resort & Spa: 436

Westin Resort Guam: 432

Onward Beach Resort: 430

Guam Reef & Olive Spa Resort: 422

Dusit Thani Guam Resort: 421

Bayview Hotel: 343

Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort: 318

Fiesta Resort Guam: 315

Holiday Resort Guam: 250

Lotte Hotel Guam: 220

Royal Orchid Guam: 204

Wyndham Garden Guam: 144

Pacific Bay Hotel: 125

Grand Plaza Hotel: 116

Hotel Santa Fe: 104

Tumon Bay Capital Hotel: 62

Starts Guam Resort Hotel: 61

Surestay Hotel by Best Western: 60

Guam Airport Hotel: 51

Days Inn: 48

Alupang Apartments: 10

Total: 8,656

Source: GHRA

PDN News Director Steve Limtiaco and PDN Reporter Anumita Kaur contributed to this report.