Thirty-four states and the nation’s capital have confirmed cases of novel coronavirus, but the crisis continues to grow aboard cruise ships at sea.
There are at least 21 people with coronavirus aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship, which is expected to dock sometime Monday in Oakland, California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a news conference Sunday.
The Grand Princess has been in limbo since Wednesday, when officials learned a California man who traveled on the same ship last month later died of coronavirus. On Sunday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said four people from that February Grand Princess voyage have been diagnosed with coronavirus. It was not immediately clear whether those four include the California man who died.
Among the infected on the ship are 19 crew members and two passengers, though the number of onboard infections could rise, as not all of the approximately 3,500 people on board – including passengers and crew – have been tested.
About 1,000 California residents from the ship will go into mandatory quarantine at Travis Air Force Base and Miramar Naval Air Station, the US Department of Health and Human Services said Sunday.
Passengers will be screened by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC at the port, according to a statement from Travis Air Force Base.
“Only asymptomatic passengers will be transferred” to military bases for more screening and a 14-day quarantine, the statement said.
Residents of other states will complete their mandatory quarantine at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland in Texas or Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Georgia. Throughout the quarantine, passengers will be monitored for symptoms of coronavirus, DHHS said.
Some 54 countries are represented among the passengers and crew, Newsom told reporters, and charter flights will be provided for the largest group of foreign passengers. The Canadian government said it plans to repatriate its citizens aboard the ship.
The 1,113 crew members will be quarantined on the ship, which will leave the port after passengers disembark, the governor said.
Officials anticipate the entire process will take between two and three days.
“That’s why we ask just patience as we prepare the site and make sure the screening is appropriate and make sure we have all the logistics at hand so that we’re doing this in an appropriate way,” Newsom said.