Outbreak On U.S. Aircraft Carrier 'Accelerating,' Commander Warns Pentagon

Updated at 5:08 p.m. ET

The commander of an American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier docked in Guam that has been struck by a coronavirus outbreak has sent the Pentagon a strongly worded plea for urgent assistance. "The spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating," commander writes in a dated March 30. "Decisive action is required now in order to comply with CDC and [U.S. Navy] guidance and prevent tragic outcomes."Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly on March 26 that at leastThe ship's commander writes that except for a "handful" of senior officers' staterooms, none ofthe ship's quarters meet the recommended guidelines for isolation and quarantine."Infected Sailors reside in these off-ship locations," he writes in the letter, which was first reported by . "Two Sailors have already tested positive in an open bay gymnasium equipped with cots."Every member of the ship's crew was to be tested, despite the shortage of test kits last week. But Crozier says such tests are no guarantee that sailors are free of the coronavirus and that he believes the focus on testing is "inappropriate."Noting that the current strategy of removing some crew from the aircraft carrier while trying to clean it will slow the spread of the virus but fail to eradicate it, Crozier recommends removing 90% of the crew and isolating them ashore for two weeks. The remaining crew would run the ship's nuclear reactor and do sanitizing, tasks which the commander calls "a necessary risk."Crozier ends his four-page letter requesting "all available resources" to find quarantine-compliant rooms for his entire crew "as soon as possible."