US navy captain fired for voicing virus concern tests positive: report

The US naval commander whose widely publicised plea for help for his coronavirus-affected crew led to his dismissal has reportedly himself tested positive for the disease.

Captain Brett Crozier's COVID-19 test result was reported Sunday by the New York Times, just hours after US Defense Secretary Mark Esper defended the captain's firing.

Esper told ABC that Navy Secretary Thomas Modly had "made a tough decision, tough call" in deciding to fire Crozier from his command of the aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt, now docked in Guam.

Asked about a report that President Donald Trump wanted Crozier fired, Esper replied, "This was the secretary's call. He came and briefed me ... It was the secretary's call. I told him I would support it."
"He shouldn't be talking that way in a letter," he said of Crozier. "I thought it was terrible what he did."
Joe Biden, the leading Democratic candidate for president, condemned the firing on Sunday, telling ABC it was "close to criminal."
And a statement from Democratic leaders of the House Armed Services Committee said Crozier might not have handled the matter perfectly, but that his dismissal was an "overreaction."
"We have had to cancel exercises. We've had to constrain basic training, for example," Esper said, before adding, "We think those are all manageable."