Cruise Passengers Still Held in Ship Off California Coast – Awaiting Coronavirus Test Results
The fate of the Grand Princess’s current voyage was altered dramatically days ago when one of the ship’s previous passengers died of coronavirus. As some of the ship’s current passengers were aboard the ship with the victim, authorities have deemed that they must be tested for coronavirus. Now authorities have announced that six other passengers from the victim’s voyage have also tested positive for norovirus.
The Grand Princess has a capacity of up to 3,500 passengers and hundreds of crew members. The passengers likely originated from all over the U.S. and Canada, and have now dispersed across North America after having possibly been exposed to coronavirus. Officials say that the six individuals who are confirmed to have contracted the disease are now in Northern California and Canada.
It is currently unclear how long authorities will hold the Grand Princess off the coast of Northern California.“The ship will not come onshore until we appropriately assess the passengers,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said, reports USAToday.
Authorities are also investigating the death of another passenger who sailed on the same cruise as the deceased victim.
While authorities await the results of the coronavirus tests, cruise officials have reportedly confined passengers to their rooms. The ship’s captain announced to the passengers that, though he would like to allow everyone to get out and get some fresh air, “Unfortunately, at this time we have not received approval for this from local authorities.”
Attorney John H. (Jack) Hickey and his team handle a wide range of cases, including but not limited to cruise ship accidents, admiralty and maritime accident cases, medical malpractice, wrongful death, premises liability, railroad accidents and car accidents. We represent victims from all over the nation, the world and the state of Florida.