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WASHINGTON, April 5-- Captain Brett Crozier, who has commanded aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt until his recent removal by the Navy for sounding the alarm about a coronavirus outbreak on board, has tested positive for the virus, The New York Times reported on Sunday. The Times, citing Crozier's Naval Academy classmates, said Crozier exhibited symptoms before he was relieved of his duty on the warship Thursday. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Sunday an investigation into Crozier's actions is ongoing. "All the services at times relieve commanders without the benefit of an investigation up front because they've lost confidence in them. It's certainly not unique to the Navy," he said on cnn's "State of the Union" program. The secretary also confirmed that there have been 155 positive tests among sailors on board the Roosevelt, that more than half of the crew have been tested, and that there have been no hospitalizations. The Navy planned to evacuate 2,700 of the roughly 5,000 crew members on the vessel, leaving the rest on board to maintain the ship's operation. As of Saturday, 1,548 service members have disembarked the ship, and The Times, citing local hotel association, said at least an additional 400 service members will be moved to Guam hotels Sunday. Crozier sent a five-page internal letter earlier this week to higher-ranking officials in the chain of command, pleading for help from the Pentagon to contain a COVID-19 outbreak aboard the Roosevelt by transferring 90 percent of the crew onto Guam for quarantine. The ship now docks in Guam. | 
