Virus-hit carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is finally back at sea after being benched on the pacific island of Guam for almost eight weeks.
The Navy announced on May 21 that the nuclear-powered ship was underway in the Philippine Sea—although it has left some of the 5,000 crew behind.
The carrier was on deployment for the 7th fleet in the Pacific when it was hit by the outbreak, and stayed put in Guam after a scheduled stop on March 27.
“It feels great to be back at sea,” said Rear Adm. Stu Baker, commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9. “Getting Theodore Roosevelt and Carrier Air Wing 11 one step closer to returning to their mission in the Indo-Pacific is a great achievement for the crew.”

In total, around 1,000 crew members tested positive for COVID-19, as the crew was systematically tested and quarantined while the ship was cleaned.
One sailor on the carrier became the first and only member of the armed forces on active duty to die so far from the virus.
The Navy is now using a concept called “scaled manning,” selecting only the crew members for particular missions to come on board.