{"id":14334,"date":"2021-02-05T21:17:55","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T21:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/02\/05\/navy-chief-dies-of-covid-complications\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:06:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:06:40","slug":"navy-chief-dies-of-covid-complications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2021\/02\/05\/navy-chief-dies-of-covid-complications\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy chief dies of COVID complications"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Navy chief and staff instructor at Recruit Training Command Great Lakes<\/a>, Illinois, died Tuesday at his home due to COVID-19 complications, the second active-duty sailor to die this week after contracting the novel coronavirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief Quartermaster Herbert Rojas, 50, of Richmond Hill, New York, had been randomly tested recently and was \u201casymptomatic positive\u201d at the time, according to Lt. Cmdr. Phil Chitty, a spokesman for Naval Service Training Command<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chitty declined to say when Rojas was tested, but said it was part of \u201csentinel surveillance testing\u201d for all Recruit Training Command staff members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RTC\u2019s surveillance involves randomly testing 10 percent of RTC staff each week, with all staff being tested over a 10-week period, Chitty said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The source of Rojas\u2019 infection remains unknown, Chitty said, but \u201ca contact tracing investigation was done to identify anyone at Recruit Training Command with possible contact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t