Relief for passengers. Princess Cruises, the company that owns the Grand Princess, has announced that the boat stuck off the coast of California will finally be authorized to dock in Oakland opposite San Francisco on Monday.
Mike Pence, the Vice President of the United States, announced on Friday that 19 crew members and two passengers had tested positive for Covid-19.
Originally, Donald Trump had declared that he was not personally in favor of disembarking passengers. "I would prefer that they stay on board, because I like the contamination figures in the United States as they are. I do not need them to double because of a boat when we are not responsible for the situation, "he had commented, while specifying leaving the final decision to the health authorities.
President Trump on Americans infected with coronavirus on Grand Princess Cruise Ship:
“I don't need to have the numbers double because of one ship ... that wasn't our fault.” pic.twitter.com/S3eRLTAEaS
To avoid a new risk of contamination, the Grand Princess, which has 3,533 passengers and crew members, will have to launch the moorings in a non-commercial part of this port.
The first passengers will disembark on Monday
"The most affected passengers requiring intensive medical treatment and hospitalization will begin disembarking on Monday," added Princess Cruises, noting that the initial disembarkation plan was delayed from Sunday to Monday by the United States Center for Health Control (CDC) who wants to test everyone on board again. Only 45 tests have been carried out so far on the boat.
#GrandPrincess Update: The logistics plan went into further review by the state and federal authorities and the ship will not berth in Oakland on Sunday. It will now be Monday - time to be determined.
- Princess Cruises (@PrincessCruises) March 8, 2020"Passengers resident in California will go to a federal center for testing, while non-Californians will be directed to federal establishments in other states," the company added.
The crew will be placed in quarantine on board the liner. The crew will be quarantined and treated on board the Grand Princess, the company added.
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Of the 2,422 passengers, 2,016 are American (including 938 from California). A total of 54 nationalities are represented on board.
Less chaotic than the Diamond Princess
According to the Mercury News, the United States government has set up an operational command center at the Marriott Convention Center in Oakland to conduct the entire passenger and crew disembarkation operation that is expected to take place over several days.
According to the captain, the most acute cases of Covid-19 should be transferred to a military hospital.
VIDEO. Coronavirus: the logbook of a quarantined passenger on a ship in Japan
Some people aboard the Grand Princess liner developed flu symptoms consistent with the coronavirus when a 71-year-old man died of the Covid-19 coronavirus after traveling on the ship during a recent cruise to Mexico. The vessel, returning from Hawaii, shortened its voyage when passengers began to show signs of infection.
In early February, the Diamond Princess cruise liner had quarantined near Yokohama with 174 people screened for coronavirus.