Coronavirus: Tests Underway On Cruise Ship Passengers, Crew

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The cruise ship Grand Princess remains outside the Golden Gate as tests are performed on passengers and crew members "who have experienced influenza-like illness symptoms on this voyage, and guests currently under care for respiratory illness," according to the cruise line.

California's first death attributed to COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, was a 71-year-old Rocklin man who took a cruise from San Francisco to Mexico on the Grand Princess last month. Two other passengers, who live in Sonoma County, also have presumptive positive cases of coronavirus.

Since the cruise to Mexico, the ship took on thousands of new passengers for a cruise to Hawaii, with stops at the four main islands. Now back from Hawaii and ready to dock in San Francisco, it was barred from doing so on Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The U.S. Coast Guard took coronavirus test kits out to the ship by helicopter, and those tests will be analyzed at the state lab in Richmond. Once the lab receives the samples, the tests should be complete in about four hours. Also being tested are passengers who sailed to Mexico and remained onboard for the current Hawaii voyage, regardless of their health.

Meanwhile, Princess Cruises reports that passengers showing symptoms are remaining in their cabins so they don't spread illness.

"Public health officials have advised that no guests will be permitted to disembark until all results have been received," the cruise line reports.

The Grand Princess was due to begin its next cruise on March 7, but it has been canceled. "All guests will receive a full refund of their cruise fare, Princess Air, Princess Cruise Plus pre- and post-cruise hotel packages, prepaid shore excursions and other prepaid items purchased through Princess," the company said in a Tweet. "Guests will also receive a Future Cruise Credit equal to 100% of the cruise fare paid on this voyage."

In a press release announcing San Francisco's first two community contracted cases of coronavirus, the city commented on the Grand Princess, "The CDC, the California State Health Department, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the US Coast Guard are working to determine if COVID-19 is present on the ship. Testing protocols are being put in place on the ship for those passengers and crew that have shown flu-like symptoms or may have been exposed to the virus, and that process is expected to begin today.

"Once that has happened, the CDC and the state will determine the most appropriate location for the ship to berth to provide for the safety of the surrounding community as well as the passengers and crew. The CDC and the state are fully engaged in determining a location that can most appropriately address the health of those passengers that may have COVID-19 and the safety of those passengers not impacted, as well as the surrounding community."

With the apparent circulation of coronavirus in San Francisco already, residents have expressed concerns about releasing Grand Princess passengers into the city.

>> Coronavirus: 2 San Francisco Cases Of Community Spread

US, World Death Toll Rises

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus is now eleven, according to a count maintained by Johns Hopkins: 9 in King County, Washington; 1 in Snohomish County, Washington; and the California case in Placer County.

The death count worldwide is now 3,347, the majority of them in China. Other nations reporting deaths: Italy, Iran, Iraq, South Korea, Japan, the UK, France, Spain, Hong Kong, the Philippines, San Marino, Switzerland, Thailand, and Taiwan.

The total confirmed cases announced is approaching 100,000. It is currently: 97,841.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

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Also See:

• State Of Emergency Declared In CA Amid COVID-19 Death, Outbreak
• 2nd Sonoma County Resident Presumptive Positive For COVID-19
• First CA Coronavirus Death Reported In Northern California
• Coronavirus: First Contra Costa Case Confirmed
• Coronavirus Case Confirmed In Berkeley