|
|
Post by Admin on Mar 5, 2020 6:28:31 GMT
Thousands of people on Princess Cruises' Grand Princess may have been exposed to coronavirus after sailing with 62 passengers who company officials say had previously been on a voyage with a man who eventually died from the virus.
A 71-year-old man from California died from coronavirus after sailing on the Grand Princess on a cruise from San Francisco that visited Mexico from Feb. 11 through Feb. 21. Health officials in Placer County, where the man died, said he was "likely exposed" to the virus on board the Grand Princess.
The 62 passengers who may have come in contact with the man who died are now being confined to their staterooms on board, by order of the CDC. The ship was on its way to Mexico from a Hawaiian port, according to CruiseMapper.
But the cruise line has ordered the ship to re-route to San Francisco, where it is expected to arrive Thursday afternoon, according to a letter that Princess officials sent to passengers on board and which is available to read on the company web site.
It's unclear what will happen once the ship arrives and company officials say that the early return to San Francisco is being done "out of an abundance of caution."
The 62 passengers had moved about the ship freely until Wednesday, when they were asked to quarantine until cleared by medical officials, according to the cruise line. The ship can hold up to 2,600 guests and 1,150 crew members according to Princess Cruises' website.
"For those guests who sailed with us on our previous voyage and may have been exposed, in an abundance of caution, the CDC requires you to remain in your stateroom until you have been contacted and cleared by our medical staff," the passengers were informed in the letter. "A member of our medical team will be calling you between the hours of 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM this morning. You may order room service while you wait for the medical screening to be completed."
Grand Princess is being held off the coast of California, Governor Gavin Newsom said at a press conference Wednesday. Newsom said that the ship was due to arrive Wednesday evening but would remain offshore. "We requested the arrival to be delayed," he said.
There are 11 passengers and 10 crew members who have reported symptoms of coronavirus on board. That count may change, Newsom said. It remains unclear whether the 21 people that Newsom mentioned are part of the 62 people who have been required to stay in their staterooms.
"As a consequence, we are going to be flying testing kits to the cruise ship," Newsom said.
State officials are partnering with the CDC and the Coast Guard to get the tests to the ship and back to land to be assessed. Testing should be completed fairly quickly, given that the turnaround time for a test is about four hours, according Newsom.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Mar 6, 2020 18:35:42 GMT
Concerns were first raised about the ship when a former passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong tested positive for the virus on 1 February. Three days later, Japanese authorities stopped the ship from sailing. On 5 February, tighter controls were introduced and the 2,600 guests on board were told not to leave their rooms. But these measures, which some have speculated were imposed days too late, only applied to passengers. Crew continued to eat in a large mess hall, share bathroom facilities and go to guests’ rooms. Some departments received protective equipment later than others. Santos says he did not receive a mask until a week after the ship had been stopped.  At the time, Kentaro Iwata of Kobe University Hospital, an infectious disease specialist who visited the ship during the quarantine, described the procedures onboard as “completely inadequate”. In a scathing video posted online, he said he had worked during Ebola and Sars outbreaks and had never worried about getting infected but, after visiting the Diamond Princess, he was afraid of catching coronavirus. Crew members described scenes of confusion and chaos, in which there was little separation between the healthy and the sick. “As a crew you don’t even know who is positive – you’re dealing with them and you’re going around the ship, eating in the mess together,” said another staff member, James Reyes, who worked in housekeeping.  Princess Cruises said in a statement that Japan’s ministry of health was the lead authority “defining and executing the testing and quarantine protocols for all guests and crew”, and that the ship was legally obliged to follow the country’s public health and medical instructions. Japan’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement that Japan “presented a criteria of behaviour” to limit infection along with equipment, but that “the responsibility for ensuring that the ship can be operated in a manner that provides a safe environment for passengers and crew rests with the ship operator”. |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Mar 7, 2020 1:17:46 GMT
 Twenty-one people aboard a mammoth cruise ship off the California coast have tested positive for the new coronavirus, Vice President Mike Pence announced Friday, including 19 crew members. Pence said the federal government is working with California officials on a plan to bring the ship to a noncommercial port this weekend and the 3,500 passengers and crew members will be tested for the virus. Friday’s test results come amid evidence the vessel was the breeding ground for a deadly cluster of at least 10 cases during its previous voyage. On Thursday, a military helicopter crew lowered test kits onto the 951-foot (290-meter) Grand Princess by rope and later retrieved them for analysis as the vessel waited off San Francisco, under orders to keep its distance from shore. Princess Cruises said 45 of the more than 3,500 people on board were tested. Health officials trying to establish whether the virus is circulating on the Grand Princess undertook the testing after reporting that a passenger on a previous voyage of the ship, in February, died of the disease. |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Mar 7, 2020 5:18:52 GMT
At least 21 people test positive for coronavirus on cruise ship held off California coast, South by Southwest canceled over coronavirus fears, and how the outbreak is impacting American businesses. Horrified passengers only learned that nineteen crew members and two tourists aboard Grand Princess cruise ship had tested positive for coronavirus when Mike Pence announced the cases at his press conference. Forty-six people on board were swabbed and 21 of them tested positive, Vice President Mike Pence revealed in a White House press conference Friday.  News of the outbreak came as two more deaths were announced in the US Friday night, both in Florida, taking the US total to 17. The ship has been kept in a holding pattern in the Pacific Ocean off San Francisco for nearly two days and will now move on to a 'non commercial port' where all the 3,500 passengers and crew members will be unloaded and tested.  Friday's test results come amid evidence the vessel was the breeding ground for a deadly cluster of at least ten cases during its previous voyage. |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Mar 8, 2020 0:15:45 GMT
The U.S. Coast Guard delivered supplies to the stricken Grand Princess cruise ship, and later had to evacuate a sick passenger from the vessel who had fallen “critically ill” — but not with the coronavirus, officials said Saturday.  Meanwhile thousands of passengers and crew were still awaiting an announcement about where their ship may be headed next, and what the plans are for docking the vessel or evacuating any of the 21 people aboard who have tested positive for the virus. Princess Cruises confirm at least 21 people have tested positive for the coronavirus aboard the Grand Princess ship. NBC's Steve Patterson and Hans Nichols report for Weekend TODAY, and NBC News science contributor Joseph Fair joins for analysis. “No changes or new news out here. Just floating around waiting. At least the sun is out and we have a balcony,” said passenger Kristian Riese, 47, in a message to this news organization. He is on the cruise with his girlfriend and elderly parents. |
|
