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The COVID-19 pandemic spread to many military ships. The nature of these ships, which includes working with others in small enclosed areas and a lack of private quarters for the vast majority of crew, contributed to the rapid spread of the disease, even more so than on cruise ships. [1] [2]
Due to the nature of operations security, national militaries may have policies in place that prevent or restrict reporting of SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 deaths, so although the cases listed below may have been widely reported in reliable sources, confirmation by official spokespeople of the respective militaries is not systematic. [3]
On 25 March, Belgian Defense reported that a crew member of the Belgian frigate Leopold I had tested positive. [52] [ non-primary source needed ] The sailor had been evacuated via air to Den Helder on 20 March after he began showing symptoms, and was quarantined at home when the test returned positive on 24 March. [14] [15] [16] As a precaution, the ship broke off from its operation with the French carrier battle group led by Charles de Gaulle and returned to Zeebrugge, its home port, on 27 March, about a month earlier than planned. [14] [53]
Because about 40 crew members were beginning to show symptoms, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle returned to its home port in Toulon earlier than planned, as reported on 8 April 2020 by the Ministry of Armed Forces. [54] [55] Other ships that were part of the carrier battle group also began to return to their home ports. [34]
After 66 sailors aboard Charles de Gaulle were tested, the ministry announced on 10 April that 50 tests had returned positive. [56] Three sailors were evacuated by air to Saint Anne Army Teaching Hospital . [56] [57]
The carrier had been on a months-long mission leading a carrier battle group when its first coronavirus case was reported. [53] [16] Another ship participating in the mission, Belgium's Leopold I, had broken off to return to port weeks earlier due to a case of coronavirus being found on board. [16]
On 12 April 2020, the Marine Nationale reported that Charles de Gaulle and accompanying air-defense frigate Chevalier Paul had returned to Toulon, while command and replenishment tanker Somme and anti-submarine frigate La Motte-Picquet had returned to Brest. [34] The 1,700 sailors of Charles de Gaulle and 200 sailors of Chevalier Paul were subsequently quarantined for two weeks. [27] [28]
On 15 April, the Ministry of Armed Forces reported that, out of the 1,767 tests that had been conducted on the members of the carrier battle group so far, 668 had returned positive. [27] [ non-primary source needed ] [lower-alpha 28] The vast majority of these cases were aboard Charles de Gaulle, and the remainder of the cases were reported to be aboard Chevalier Paul. [27] [28] [29] [34]
On 17 April, Maryline Gygax Généro , Central Director of the Military Health Service, reported to the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Armed Forces Committee that all 2,300 sailors of the carrier battle group had been tested upon their return to Toulon, and so far, 940 had tested positive while 645 had tested negative. [lower-alpha 29] [26] On the same day, Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces, reported to the National Assembly's National Defense and Armed Forces Committee that 2,010 sailors of the carrier battle group had been tested, with 1,081 tests returning positive so far. [32] The Navy clarified that, on Charles de Gaulle itself, the final number was 1,046 positive cases out of 1,760 tested. [30]
In total, 545 sailors had shown symptoms and 24 had been hospitalized at the Saint Anne Army Teaching Hospital, including 2 admitted to the ICU. [32] [30]
On 29 April 2020, the Navy stated that 19 sailors aboard Chevalier Paul had tested positive upon arrival at Toulon. [58]
On 11 May 2020, Florence Parly reported to the National Assembly the conclusions of two investigations [lower-alpha 30] into the outbreak on board the carrier, stating that the virus had first arrived before a stopover made in Brest, and that although the command and medical team aboard the carrier had "excessive confidence" [lower-alpha 31] in their ability to deal with the virus, the investigations did not consider them at fault. [59] [60]
Parly further explained that the introduction of the virus on board the carrier happened sometime between when it left Limassol, Cyprus, on 26 February 2020, and when it arrived at Brest on 13 March 2020. [60] During this time, personnel had been brought on board via air from either Cyprus, Sicily, the Balearic Islands, Spain, or Portugal. [60] The spread of the virus, however, was exacerbated by the stopover at Brest. [60] Social distancing and other measures were taken after the stopover, but they weighed heavily on crew morale, so after enforcing the strict measures for a fortnight, they were relaxed, and a concert on board was authorized for 30 March. [59]
Parly also noted that all soldiers aboard Charles de Gaulle have since recovered from the disease except for one sailor, who was still hospitalized after leaving the ICU. [59]
On 30 March 2020, the Ministry of Defence reported that eight crew members of the Dutch submarine HNLMS Dolfijn had tested positive. [20] Out of 58 crew members, 15 sailors with mild symptoms were tested. [20] The submarine changed course near Scotland to return to the Netherlands two weeks early, arriving in Den Helder on 3 April. [20] [61]
On 16 June 2020, Navy Chief Vice admiral Giovanni Bacordo announced that one of the 65 crew members of the Philippine Navy missile frigate BRP Jose Rizal tested positive for COVID-19, causing the postponement of the ship's commissioning. [lower-alpha 32] [47] The frigate had sailed from Hyundai Heavy Industries' shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea with its crew on 18 May. It had arrived at the Subic Bay anchorage area on 23 May and remained there to fulfill mandatory quarantine and swab testing requirements. [47] The ship docked at the Port of Subic Bay in Zambales on 15 June but the whole crew had to undergo 14 days of additional quarantine from the time the ship's sole case tested positive. [47] The ship was eventually commissioned on 10 July in a ceremony that was remotely attended by President Rodrigo Duterte. [62]
On 19 July 2020, the Philippine News Agency reported that, following the commissioning ceremony, two crew members of BRP Jose Rizal had tested positive for the virus and had been evacuated to a quarantine facility on shore. [48]
On 18 April 2020, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung reported that three Republic of China Navy cadets, interning on one of the ships of the Dunmu fleet , had tested positive for coronavirus. [lower-alpha 33] [36] All three cadets were in their 20s, with one case showing symptoms as early as 12 April before seeking medical attention on 15 April, when the ship returned to Taiwan. [36] There were 337 people aboard the same ship as the cadets. [36] Over 700 sailors serving in the three-ship fleet have been placed in quarantine. [64]
A Dunmu fleet is formed annually, and this iteration of the Dunmu fleet was formed on 20 February 2020 consisting of the following three ships:
The three cadets had boarded the ship on 21 February, and the fleet left Zuoying Naval Base on 5 March 2020 for a goodwill visit with Palau. [36] [38] [63] The fleet stayed at Palau from 12 to 15 March 2020, although the size restrictions at the port in Palau meant that only Kang Ding entered the port. [38] After departing Palau, the fleet remained at sea for roughly a month before returning to Zuoying Naval Base on 15 April. [lower-alpha 22] [63] [38]
On 19 April, Taiwan announced that a further 21 sailors of the Dunmu fleet had tested positive. [37] More cases from Pan Shi continued to be identified, [65] [66] [67] [68] [69] [70] eventually reaching a total of 36. [71] On 26 May, Chang Shan-chwen, an adviser to the Central Epidemic Command Center, stated that the index case on the Pan Shi was likely to have been infected in Taiwan. [72]
The goodwill mission has been criticized for pictures of sailors not wearing masks appearing on social media. [73] Vice Admiral Mei Chia-shu, Navy Deputy Commander, stated that as Palau had no reported cases of coronavirus at the time, such a decision was made after consulting with Taiwan's embassy in Palau. [73]
On 23 April 2020, the United States Navy reported that at least one coronavirus case had been found on 26 of its battle force ships. [17] In addition, on 28 April 2020, the Navy reported that "[o]f the more than 90 U.S. Navy ships at sea around the world today, none have active COVID-19 cases". [lower-alpha 34] [12]
The coronavirus pandemic was reported to have spread to the American amphibious assault ship USS Boxer when its first presumptive positive case was reported on 15 March 2020. [5] This was reported as the first case for a sailor aboard a United States Navy ship. [5] The sailor subsequently quarantined at home. [5] A second sailor tested positive on 17 March 2020 and also quarantined at home. [4]
The coronavirus pandemic was reported to have spread to the crew of the American landing helicopter dock USS Essex when its first case was reported on 17 March. [6] The sailor had been attending a course at Naval Base San Diego since 6 February 2020 when the test returned positive on 14 March. [6] The student subsequently self-isolated at home. [6]
On 17 March 2020, United States Pacific Fleet reported that a crew member of the American destroyer USS Ralph Johnson had tested positive the previous day. [8] USS Ralph Johnson was at its home port in Everett, Washington at the time, and the sailor self-isolated at home. [8]
On 17 March 2020, United States Pacific Fleet reported that a crew member of the American littoral combat ship USS Coronado had tested positive that day. [75] USS Coronado was at its home port in San Diego, California at the time, and the sailor self-isolated at home. [75]
By 26 March 2020, nine sailors had tested positive, and more than thirty sailors, or roughly half of the crew, had their movements restricted. [9]
The coronavirus pandemic was reported to have spread to the crew of the American aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson when its first case was reported on 23 March 2020. [10] At the time, the ship was in dry dock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and it was reported that "the sailor did not board the vessel and had no contact with any shipyard personnel". [10]
The coronavirus pandemic was reported to have spread to the American aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt when its first three cases were reported on 24 March 2020. [76] As of 5 May 2020, 1,156 crewmembers have tested positive, with one fatality. [77] [12] The Navy has said they will no longer report public tallies of coronavirus cases on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Initial testing was completed by 27 April 2020, at which point, 969 crew members had tested positive, and 14 of those 969 had recovered. [12] By 29 April 2020, the bulk of the ship had been cleaned, and sailors that were previously quarantined on Guam began moving back to the ship. [74]
This was the first instance of coronavirus being found aboard an American naval ship that had been deployed. [17]
The coronavirus pandemic was reported to have spread to the American aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan when its first two cases were reported on 27 March 2020. [78] [79] The positive cases forced the closure of the naval base outside Tokyo where the carrier is based, with all personnel on base told to stay indoors for 48 hours. [78] By 23 April 2020, 16 sailors had tested positive. [17]
The coronavirus pandemic was reported to have spread to the American hospital ship USNS Comfort when its first case was reported on 7 April 2020. [80] The ship had arrived in Manhattan on 20 March with the intention of treating patients for ailments other than coronavirus so that local hospitals could concentrate on coronavirus cases. However, officials announced on 7 April that the ship's mission had changed and 500 of the ship's 1,000 beds would be allocated for severe coronavirus cases. [22] In addition, as all crew members had tested negative before the ship set sail from Virginia and no crew had left the ship since arriving in New York, it was unclear how the crew member, who is not a medical worker and had no contact with patients, got infected. [80]
It was later revealed that two civil service mariners aboard USNS Comfort had been infected, but both have since recovered. [21] [81]
Comfort departed on 30 April, having treated 179 patients. [82]
The coronavirus pandemic was reported to have spread to the American aircraft carrier USS Nimitz when its first case was reported on 7 April 2020. [23] [83] One sailor received a positive result the previous week after exhibiting symptoms, and was subsequently placed in isolation and removed from the ship. [23] Another crew member has also tested positive, but is reported to have not been working on the ship. [83]
On 27 April, USS Nimitz completed a 27-day quarantine and began COMPTUEX training. [84]
The COVID-19 pandemic spread to the US navy hospital ship USNS Mercy when its first case was reported on 8 April 2020. [25] It is unclear how the crew member became infected, as the crew member had not interacted with any patients, all crew members had been screened before boarding the ship in San Diego and had not been allowed to leave the ship since, and the ship was only treating patients for ailments other than COVID-19, requiring a negative SARS-CoV-2 test result before any patient was allowed to board the ship. [25] [85] [86]
As of 14 April 2020, 7 medical staff members had tested positive, and the Navy had removed 116 medical staff members from the ship in response. [86]
On 17 April 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that Navy officials had stated that at least 9 sailors assigned to American amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli had tested positive for the virus. [35] At the time, USS Tripoli was docked in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where it had been built by Ingalls Shipbuilding. [87] [lower-alpha 35] About 630 sailors were moved off the ship as a preventative measure, which resulted in the outbreak spreading to only "around a couple dozen sailors". [7]
On 24 April 2020, the United States Navy reported that a sailor assigned to American destroyer USS Kidd had tested positive for the virus after being medically evacuated the previous day from operations at sea. [88] After the sailor's test returned positive, the Navy sent a medical team to the ship to conduct contact tracing and test sailors for the virus on board. [88] By the morning of 24 April 2020, 17 additional sailors had tested positive, with additional cases expected as testing continued. [88]
The initial patient was stable and recovering at a medical facility in San Antonio, Texas. [88] In total, two sailors have been medically evacuated. [12] Sailors are wearing PPE and N95 masks. [12] USS Makin Island, an amphibious assault ship with a Fleet Surgical Team, an intensive care unit, and ventilators, headed to the ship in case additional medical capacity was required. [89] USS Kidd began to return to port in San Diego for disinfection. [88] [90]
At the time the first sailor was medically evacuated from the ship, USS Kidd had been part of an operation to prevent drug trafficking near South America. [90] It had been at sea since January. [90] A second sailor was later medically evacuated to the states as well. [40]
On 25 April 2020, the Navy reported that 33 positive cases had been found. [12] By 27 April 2020, 45% of the crew members had been tested, with 47 total positive cases reported, and 15 sailors transferred to USS Makin Island for additional monitoring. [12] By 28 April 2020, 64 had tested positive, and USS Kidd had docked in San Diego that afternoon to be disinfected, a process that might take up to two weeks. [12] [90] It is expected that eventually, all sailors on board will be tested for the virus. [90]
This was the second instance of coronavirus being found aboard an American naval ship that had been deployed. [17]
On 30 April 2020, USNI News reported that two civilian mariners on American fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman had been infected with the virus. [21] The ship had been docked in Boston since January for scheduled maintenance by Boston Ship Repair until the end of May. [21] [41] The source of the infection was unclear, but a spokesperson for Military Sealift Command (MSC) stated that there were outside contractors at the shipyard who had tested positive earlier. [81]
By 5 May 18 sailors had tested positive, including the ship's medic. [41] About 50 people were on board and all were placed under quarantine. [41]
On 19 May 2020, the Project On Government Oversight and The Daily Beast reported that 22 crew members and 30 contractors had tested positive for the virus, and that a 60-year-old contractor who worked in the engine room had died of the virus. [42] [91] In addition, it was reported that mariners had complained about how MSC was "being reactive rather than proactive", and that, despite the issuance of a gangway up order that required all civilian mariners on leave to return to the ship and prevented all mariners from leaving the ship, contractors and other personnel were allowed to embark and disembark with virtually no restrictions, except for random temperature checks and a self-report questionnaire. [42] The ship was eventually vacated on 8 May for seven days. [42]
On 21 May 2020, a civilian mariner was declared dead due to complications of the virus. [lower-alpha 36] [43] He was hospitalized on 30 April 2020, and was placed on a ventilator in an ICU on 4 May 2020. [43] The deceased was the first civilian mariner to die of the virus on an MSC ship. [42]
On 1 June 2020, Navy Times reported that a Navy spokesperson confirmed that "[s]everal crew members" assigned to American dock landing ship USS Carter Hall had tested positive for the virus on 23 May. [46] The spokesperson declined to provide an exact number of sailors, citing Defense Department policy, but added that those infected were "being checked on each day by their leadership [and] receiving deliveries of food and essential items". [46]
At the time, the ship was docked in Virginia at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story, its home base. [45] Most of the roughly 400 crew members were brought ashore while the ship was being sanitized. [45]
On 17 July 2020, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that sailors of the American amphibious transport dock USS San Diego had stated, on condition of anonymity, that at least five sailors from their ship had tested positive for the virus during the preceding few days. [49] The sailors had been interviewed by the Union-Tribune presumably regarding a fire aboard American amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard. [49] In response, a spokesperson for the US Navy confirmed that two sailors who were part of the firefighting effort had tested positive for the virus. [lower-alpha 37] [49]
The two sailors had shown symptoms of the disease. [49] One was part of a crew fighting the fire, and the other had been acting as support. [92] One sailor who fought in the fire stated that the fire had destroyed much of USS Bonhomme Richard's firefighting gear, so the gear of nearby ships, including that of USS San Diego, was being used, and sailors fighting the fire often swapped gear with each other. [49] In addition, 27 close contacts had been identified and placed in quarantine. [49]
On 30 July 2020, Navy Times reported that a spokesperson for Naval Air Force Atlantic confirmed that a "small number" of sailors assigned to American aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush had tested positive for the virus during the summer. [51] The spokesperson declined to provide an exact number of sailors or a more precise date regarding when the virus was detected, citing Defense Department policy, but added that the carrier was not deployed at the time, and that those infected "remain[ed] in isolation at their private residences in Virginia and receive[d] daily medical supportive care". [51] [93] USS George H.W. Bush had been docked at Norfolk Naval Shipyard for maintenance since 2019. [51]
One quarter of the 300-member crew of USS Michael Murphy have been infected with COVID-19. The majority are asymptomatic, but remain in isolation. USS Michael Murphy was in port in Hawaii, as of 4 November 2020. [94]
USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, and the lead ship of her class. One of the largest warships in the world, she was laid down, launched, and commissioned as CVAN-68, "aircraft carrier, attack, nuclear powered", but she was later redesignated as CVN-68, "aircraft carrier, multi-mission, nuclear-powered", on 30 June 1975, as part of a fleet-wide realignment that year.
USS Boxer (LHD-4) is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy. She is the sixth U.S. ship to bear the name of the original HMS Boxer, which was captured from the British during the War of 1812.
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) is the fourth Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered, aircraft carrier in the United States Navy. She is named in honor of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States and a proponent of naval power. She is the fourth ship named in honor of Theodore Roosevelt, three bearing his full name and a fourth with just his last name. Another three U.S. Navy ships have "Roosevelt" in their names in honor of members of the Roosevelt family. This carrier's radio call sign is "Rough Rider", the nickname of President Roosevelt's volunteer cavalry unit during the Spanish–American War. She was launched in 1984, and saw her first action during the Gulf War in 1991.
Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French Navy. The ship, commissioned in 2001, is the tenth French aircraft carrier, the first French nuclear-powered surface vessel, and the only nuclear-powered carrier completed outside of the United States Navy. She is named after French president and general Charles de Gaulle.
USS Kidd (DDG-100) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is the third Navy ship named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who was on board Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was the first American flag officer to die in World War II. The ship is part of Destroyer Squadron 1 of Carrier Strike Group 1 which is currently headed by the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70).
USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) is a Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She is the second US Navy ship to be named for Carter Hall, an estate near Winchester, Virginia, built in the 1790s.
Chevalier Paul is a Horizon-class frigate of the French Marine Nationale commissioned in June 2009, the third vessel of the French Navy named after the 17th century admiral Chevalier Paul. The main mission of this type of ship is the escort and protection of a carrier strike group formed around an aircraft carrier, usually Charles de Gaulle or one of the aircraft carriers of the US Navy, or an amphibious operation carried out by amphibious helicopter carriers. The ship's specialty is air traffic control in a war zone, but it can be employed in a wide variety of missions, such as intelligence-gathering, special forces operations, or in protecting less well-armed vessels. Horizon-class frigates such as Chevalier Paul are the most powerful surface combatants that France has ever built. In service since the end of 2011, it bears the pennant number D621. Its namesake is Jean-Paul de Saumeur, better known as Chevalier Paul, a French naval officer born in Marseille in 1598.
USS San Diego (LPD-22), a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for San Diego, California.
Ruby Princess is a Crown-class cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. At 113,561 GT, the vessel is the third and last in a series of three ships, known as the Crown class, that was built with design modifications distinguishing them from their older Grand-class sister ships. Delivered in 2008 by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, Ruby Princess also became the ninth and final Grand-class ship to join the Princess Cruises fleet.
USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO-195) is a Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler of the United States Navy.
Thomas B. Modly is an American businessman and former government official who served as acting United States Secretary of the Navy from November 24, 2019, to April 7, 2020. He resigned as acting Secretary in the wake of his firing and berating Brett Crozier, the captain of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, for allegedly going outside his chain of command in calling for help to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak onboard. Later, Modly traveled to the ship at port in Guam, where he addressed the crew in a manner that was perceived as disrespectful. He was subsequently widely criticized, and submitted a letter of resignation.
Stuart P. Baker is a retired United States Navy officer, holding the rank of rear admiral.
Early in 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease spread to a number of cruise ships, with the nature of such ships – including crowded semi-enclosed areas, increased exposure to new environments, and limited medical resources – contributing to the heightened risk and rapid spread of the disease.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Samoa is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Samoa on 18 November 2020. The country reported its second case on 27 November.
Brett Elliott Crozier is a retired captain in the United States Navy. A United States Naval Academy graduate, he became a naval aviator, first flying helicopters and then switching to fighters. After completing naval nuclear training, he served as an officer on several aircraft carriers. In spring 2020, he was commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt when COVID-19 broke out among the crew. He was relieved of command by then-acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly after sending a letter to Navy leaders asking that most of the crew be taken ashore which was subsequently leaked to the press. Crozier himself was also later diagnosed with the virus. He was reassigned to a shore position and retired in March 2022.
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, was detected on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in March 2020 while she was at sea. Affected crew members were evacuated and the ship was ordered to Guam. The captain, Brett Crozier, wanted most of the crew to be removed from the ship to prevent the spread of the disease, but his superiors were reluctant. After several days Crozier e-mailed three of his superior officers and seven other Navy Captains, outlining a plan for the ship to be largely evacuated because the virus could not be contained on board. The letter leaked to the press, and the next day the Navy ordered most of the crew to be taken ashore, but the captain was relieved of command by Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly. Modly's order was controversial, and his later speech to the crew aboard Theodore Roosevelt was criticized. Modly resigned a few days later. By mid-April hundreds of crew members including Crozier had tested positive for the virus, and one had died.
In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, navies from several countries deployed hospital ships to combat the disease. Aside from providing health services, hospital ships would allow civilian hospitals to offload some of the patients, relieving the pressure on facilities ashore. However, this also means that each ship would battle the onboard outbreaks of their own
In April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic reached the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and the Aeronaval Group of the Naval Action Force, its carrier battle group.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, former passengers of the cruise ship Grand Princess who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were being linked to cruises they had taken on the ship while it traveled between California, Mexico, and Hawaii. After the first confirmed death on 4 March 2020, Grand Princess was rerouted to the San Francisco Bay Area, where it was anchored offshore while test kits were airlifted to the ship. Preliminary testing found 21 positive cases, and the ship later docked in Oakland on 9 March 2020, with over 3,000 people entering quarantine.
The COVID-19 pandemic in American Samoa is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the unincorporated United States territory of American Samoa on 9 November 2020.
Since then, at least 1,156 sailors have tested positive, one of whom died. The Navy on Friday stopped publicly reporting daily tallies of new coronavirus cases among the Roosevelt crew.