June 24 (UPI) -- The carrier strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz arrived in Guam on Wednesday for a Safe Haven Liberty port visit, the U.S. Navy announced.
After concluding dual-carrier flight operations in the Philippine Sea on June 21 with the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group, the group consisting of the Nimitz, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton and Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Sterett and USS Ralph Johnson arrived in Guam.
While at sea, the two strike groups supported air defense drills, sea surveillance, replenishments at sea, defensive air combat training, long-range strikes,coordinated maneuvers and other exercises.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt left Naval Base Guam on June 4, where it resolved a COVID-19 outbreak aboard the ship. The ship docked there on March 27 to isolate, treat and test its crew of nearly 5,000 sailors for COVID-19 after 23 had tested positive for the virus.
Related
The Nimitz has been embarked at sea for nearly three months.
The Nimitz' port visit, whose end date was not reported by the Navy, is meant to offer rest and recreation opportunities to the ship's crew and officers in an environment mitigating the risk of contracting the virus. A section of the beach will be designated a safe zone, Navy officials said.
Earlier this week, it was reported that an Air Force unit arrived at Guam's Andersen Air Force Base in May, and 35 of its members were hospitalized and quarantined with COVID-19 symptoms.
The group stayed at the Guam Reef Hotel, in Guam's entertainment and shopping district, before moving to the base, and officials are investigating if mandatory protection protocols were followed.
