Thousands of passengers remained stranded on board one of the world’s biggest cruise liners yesterday as US officials decided where to dock the Grand Princess following an outbreak of coronavirus.
The ship, with 3,500 people including 140 Britons aboard, was stuck in international waters off San Francisco awaiting clearance to enter a non-commercial port so passengers and crew can be tested. A military helicopter lowered test kits onto the 951ft ship by rope on Thursday and later retrieved them for analysis as the vessel waited offshore. All passengers have been ordered to remain in their cabins.
An alert was raised after 21 people on board tested positive. US vice-president Mike Pence confirmed the results on Friday, saying 19 were crew members.
He said: “All passengers and crew will be tested for the virus. Those that will need to be quarantined will be quarantined. Those who will require medical help will receive it.”
The daughter of a 90-year-old passenger said her father’s health is deteriorating as he remains stuck on the liner.
Lisa Egan said yesterday: “Keeping people on the ship is going to be a death sentence for many of the elderly passengers. He has to take several medications daily and he’s going to run out today. I’m sure that’s true for many passengers.”
President Donald Trump said he would prefer not to let the passengers disembark on to American soil but would defer to the recommendations of experts.
He said: “I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault. And it wasn’t the fault of the people on the ship either. And they are mostly Americans.”
In Egypt, a Nile cruise ship carrying more than 150 tourists and crew was under quarantine in the southern city of Luxor after 12 people showed positive for coronavirus. A Taiwanese-American tourist on board had tested positive after returning to Taiwan in late February. Passengers include those from the US, France and India.
Egyptian authorities have previously reported only three confirmed cases of the virus. The wider Middle East now has more than 6,000 confirmed cases. Malaysia turned away a cruise ship carrying 2,000 passengers and crew from a port in northern Penang state, becoming the second country to bar the vessel from docking after Thailand.
The Costa Fortuna was turned away from the Thai resort island of Phuket on Friday due to the presence of 64 Italians on board. The ship is making its way to Singapore.
The global death toll from coronavirus had yesterday risen above 3,400, with more than 100,000 cases now reported.
France’s head of public health service has confirmed 16 people have died from coronavirus in the country, while the Netherlands reported its first virus death on Friday, with Malta, Serbia, Slovakia, Peru, Togo, Colombia and Cameroon also announcing their first cases.
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