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Updated April 1st, 2020 at 18:47 IST

US: Coronavirus-hit Navy ship's captain says 'soldiers don't need to die'

The captain of the US Navy Ship with positive cases of coronavirus has said in a reportedly blunt letter dated of Mar 3 to pentagon that “we are not at war".

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
US
| Image:self
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The captain of the United States Navy Ship with positive cases of coronavirus has said in a reportedly blunt letter to the pentagon that “we are not at war, soldiers do not need to die”. According to an international news agency which claims to have seen the four-page letter, the US Captain has called for more enhanced measures to save the lives of sailors and stem the further spread of deadly COVID-19. The contents of the letter were reportedly confirmed by the US authorities on March 31 even described the critical situation on the virus-hit ship. 

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As the coronavirus cases in the US continue to spike with at least 188,647 confirmed cases and over 4,000 fatalities, it has also been revealed that Navy ship’s capacity is nearly 5,000 which is equivalent to a small town. According to reports, Navy ship’s captain Brett Crozier tried to bring notice to the fact that his ship lacks the essential quarantine facilities and elaborated how the current arrangement of keeping the ship ashore might fail to eradicate the coronavirus.  In the later which was dated of March 30, Crozier asked for “decisive action” against the entire situation and called for the removal of at least 4,000 sailors from the ship and then isolating them in the country. 

"We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset - our sailors," Crozier wrote.

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‘We’re doing it’

While talking to an international media outlet, the acting US Navy secretary Thomas Modly confessed that he had heard about the letter on March 31 (local time) and assured that the Navy had been working for several days in order to get sailors off the ship. He further added that the authorities do not disagree with Crozier, but they are currently working on a structured plan to isolate the thousands of sailors from a ship called Theodore Roosevelt. 

According to Modly, they are planning to quarantine the sailors off the ship in Guam but since Guam lacks enough beds, the Navy is reportedly communicating with local governments to set up tents and use hotels. The acting US Navy secretary further added that “it’s not the same as a cruise ship” because Theodore Roosevelt has armaments to aircraft in it. 

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(With AP inputs)

(Image Source: AP)

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Published April 1st, 2020 at 18:47 IST

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