Report: Navy Capt. Brett Crozier tests positive for covid-19

Bret Gibson
Sunday, April 5, 2020 9:20 p.m. | Sunday, April 5, 2020 9:20 p.m.

Navy Capt. Brett Crozier, commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt addresses the crew during an all-hands call on the ship’s flight deck while conducting routine operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Brett Crozier, the Navy captain who sounded the alarm of a coronavirus outbreak aboard an aircraft carrier he led, has tested positive for covid-19, the New York Times reported.

Crozier began showing symptoms of coronavirus before he was removed from the USS Theodore Roosevelt last Thursday, the paper reported, citing two Naval Academy classmates.

NAVY CAPTAIN TESTS POSITIVE?: Navy Captain Brett Crozier, who was relieved of duty after sounding the alarm as the coronavirus spread through his aircraft carrier, has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19. @rachelvscott reports. https://t.co/00YemvCZLL pic.twitter.com/k54tDCUA40

— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) April 5, 2020

A Navy spokesman declined to comment to the Times on Crozier’s status.

Crozier, was relieved from his command on Thursday after he wrote a letter that the Navy needed to get more sailors off the carrier swiftly to protect their health amid an outbreak spreading aboard the ship.

“We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die,” he wrote.

Trump justifies firing of Captain Crozier, captain who sounded alarm about coronavirus on his ship, because only about 10 percent of people aboard had the virus. Trump also claims it was "inappropriate" for Crozier to publicize the situation. pic.twitter.com/lt2S4IWx2Z

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 4, 2020

The letter was published Tuesday in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Here is Captain Crozier walking away from his ship while sailors chant his name after he was relieved from duty for blowing the whistle on a coronavirus contamination aboard the USS Roosevelt.

He sacrificed himself and it sounds like everyone knows it. pic.twitter.com/hwiu7Z1MVV

— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) April 3, 2020

Bret Gibson is a TribLive digital producer. A South Hills resident, he started working for the Trib in 1998. He can be reached at bgibson@triblive.com.