A 75-year-old male passenger who traveled on the Grand Princess and died from the coronavirus was infected before he came on board the quarantined vessel, says the medical officer on the vessel which remains off the coast of San Francisco with as many as 3000 people stranded on board.
The now-deceased passenger from Placer County, California, said before he died that his symptoms began two to three days after boarding the cruise ship, says medical officer Dr. Grant Tarling.
The origins of the infection have left the fate of the ship in question as public health officials deal with a dozen cases of the virus in California linked to passengers who were on board traveling to Mexico last month, including the man who died.
The Grand Princess is stranded off the coast of San Francisco after a passenger who traveled on the ship died from the coronavirus
Coronavirus test kits are delivered to the Grand Princess, which has 21 confirmed cases of coronavirus and remains quarantined off the coast of San Francisco
Passengers on seen on the deck of the Grand Princess watching as a US military helicopter hovers above deck off the coast of San Francisco. As many as 3000 people stranded on board
Medical personnel Guardian Angels with the 129th Rescue Wing, alongside individuals from the Centers for Disease Control, don full personal protective equipment as they prepare to test passengers on the quarantined Grand Princess stranded off the coast of San Francisco
The unnamed passenger died on Wednesday at Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center after leaving the ship, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The medical officer said two waiters who had served the passenger several times had since become infected as well.
Placer County’s health officer has argued that the passenger was more likely infected with the virus which causes COVID-19 while on the Grand Princess.
‘Placer County Public Health has been consistent in our message that our first COVID-19-related fatality likely contracted the disease during international travel to Mexico,’ Dr. Aimee Sisson said.
Dr. Grant Tarling, medical officer on the Grand Princess, said a now-deceased passenger from Placer County, California, who died from the coronavirus after traveling on the cruise ship, said his symptoms began two to three days after boarding
‘As is standard public health practice, we have based our assessment on the information learned in our contact investigation as well as what we know to be true about the disease pattern.’
The passenger, who was from Placer County, had sailed to Mexico on the cruise ship and is the state’s only confirmed coronavirus death.
While cruise officials claim that the short period between the Placer County man boarding the ship and the onset of his symptoms suggest he already infected when he came on board, the exact incubation period for the virus remains unknown.
The World Health Organization, or WHO, has placed it between one and 14 days, but finds it most commonly to be about five days.
Another 21 passengers of the almost 3000 people who later embarked on the Grand Princess to Hawaii also tested positive for the virus. The infected have remained on the vessel, where several more passengers await testing.
Two more passengers and 19 crew members are known to be infected on board.
US President Donald Trump has had reservations about allowing passengers to disembark and risk further spread of the virus.
US President Donald Trump has had reservations about allowing passengers from the Grand Princess to disembark after a passenger who traveled on the ship died from the coronavirus and 21 more people have been infected
Vice President Michael Pence said that ‘all passengers and crew will be tested for coronavirus and quarantined as appropriate,’ during a meeting with cruise line executives and port directors in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
‘Those that require additional medical attention will also receive it.’
Meanwhile, the Carnival Panorama docked in Long Beach informed passengers late Saturday that tests on a passenger came back negative for the infection, reports the Press-Telegram.
Capt. Carlo Queirolo made the announcement around 9:45pm.
The negative result was confirmed by Long Beach city officials.
The Carnival Panorama docked in Long Beach informed passengers late Saturday that tests on a passenger came back negative for the infection
Capt. Carlo Queirolo of the Carnival Panorama (pictured) made the announcement about the infected passenger about 9:45pm Saturday
Long Beach officials confirmed that a single passenger aboard the Carnival Panorama, which is docked at a city port, had contracted the coronavirus
Passengers were expected to disembark from the ship Sunday morning, Carnival said in a statement.
‘We thank our guests for their tremendous patience, cooperation and understanding and the support of local officials’ who had required coronavirus testing ‘out of an abundance of caution,’ the statement said.