Marines deploy to support Roosevelt carrier, Esper open to reinstating commander
APRIL 10, 2020 / 5:09 PM
By Christen McCurdyApril 10 (UPI) — The Navy has deployed a team of medical professionals to Guam to augment efforts to manage an outbreak of the novel coronavirus on the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
According to the Marine Corps, about 230 sailors and Marines arrived in Guam “throughout the first weeks of April” to support the Roosevelt’s medical staff in assessing, managing and treating symptoms of COVID-19 while the ship is docked in Guam.
As of Friday, 447 sailors from the ship have tested positive, and 3,155 of its 4,800-strong crew have been moved ashore in Guam, according to Navy figures reported by Stars and Stripes.
The aircraft carrier has been docked in Guam since late March, when it stopped on the island to test its crew of about 4,800 for COVID-19.
The outbreak has been the center of a political firestorm that resulted in the removal of its captain, Brett Crozier, and the resignation of the Navy’s acting secretary after Crozier sent a letter pleading for more resources to manage the outbreak.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper told CBS This Morning on Friday that he is willing to consider reinstating Crozier, pending the outcome of an investigation.
“No further action will be taken against Capt. Crozier until the investigation is completed.
Massive Spike in NYC ‘Cardiac Arrest’ Deaths Seen as Sign of COVID-19 Undercounting
Hundreds of people are now dying at home in New York City daily
Published April 10, 2020 • Updated 5 hours ago
1:19/ 2:00
NBC Universal, Inc.
Across Long Island, volunteer emergency responders are answering your calls amid the coronavirus pandemic. Greg Cergol reports.
The FDNY reported a nearly 400 percent increase in “cardiac arrest” home deaths in late March and early April, a spike that officials say is almost certainly driven by COVID-19, whether they were formally diagnosed or not.
Between March 20 and April 5, the department recorded nearly 2,200 such deaths, versus 450 in the same period last year, according to data it provided on Friday.
The numbers are dramatically higher across the board — the numbers of calls, the number of deaths and particularly the percentage of such calls that end in death.
In just the first five days of April, more than 70 percent of cardiac arrest calls ended in a pronunciation of death every day. Some days, the numbers were up tenfold versus a year earlier — and everyone acknowledges there’s only one likely cause.
“It’s just horrendous. The numbers speak for themselves. This used to be a very, very rare thing in New York City and suddenly it’s jumped up. The only thing that’s changed is COVID- 19,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters earlier this week. The city is moving to count more people in its official total, even if they were not tested for the virus.