Both US aircraft carriers in the Pacific are taken out of action for up to a MONTH after sailors get infected with coronavius – giving China an almost free hand in the region as Pentagon raises threat level to second highest setting

Friday, March 27, 2020
By Paul Martin

USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Ronald Reagan are the only two US aircraft carriers in the Pacific; both have sailors who have tested positive to COVID-19
The diagnoses have prompted USS Theodore Roosevelt to port in Guam, where it could be held for at least a month
USS Ronald Reagan is currently in port in Tokyo, Japan, and it is unclear whether all of its crew will now be quarantined
China now appears to have a free hand in the Pacific – alarming news given heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington
The two superpowers have traded barbs over the origins of COVID-19, and China accused the US of ‘playing a dangerous game’ by sailing a destroyer near Taiwan
Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?

By ANDREW COURT
DAILYMAIL.COM
27 March 2020

Sailors on board both US aircraft carriers in the Pacific have tested positive to coronavirus, sparking fears the Navy could become crippled in the region.

At least 25 sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, forcing the warship to port in Guam to test all 5,000 on board.

The carrier was in the midst of a deployment to the Philippine and South China Seas when the COVID-19 diagnoses prompted the Navy to order it to cease sail Thursday.

On Friday, the US was dealt another blow following confirmation that two sailors from the USS Ronald Reagan – currently in port in Japan – had also tested positive to the highly-contagious virus.

Roosevelt and Reagan are the only two US carriers in the Pacific, and may be out of action for 25 days as they test and quarantine crew.

It effectively gives China free hand in the region. The country has two of their own aircraft carriers, including the recently-completed Shandong, rumored to have cost $9 billion and stationed at Hainan Island, the country’s southernmost point.

The US has 11 aircraft carriers – but two are deployed to the Middle East, and five are in US ports undergoing overhauls, including one with a sailor who has also tested positive for COVID-19.

The potential crippling of the US Navy in the Pacific is alarming news given escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

One anonymous service member stationed in Guam fears more US sailors and military members could become sickened with COVID-19.

‘We’re f**ked,’ they told The Daily Beast Friday.

The Navy currently has 133 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 104 of which are reported to be active-duty. On Wednesday, the Department of Defense raised its health protection level to its second highest level at every military installation around the world.

The Rest…HERE

One Response to “Both US aircraft carriers in the Pacific are taken out of action for up to a MONTH after sailors get infected with coronavius – giving China an almost free hand in the region as Pentagon raises threat level to second highest setting”

  1. Fossil

    It seems to me that North America has developed a chink in its armour. Literally!!!!

    #2663

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