The families of British passengers stuck on board a coronavirus-hit cruise ship off the coast of California have pleaded for them to be evacuated before they become seriously ill.
So far, 21 people on the Grand Princess have tested positive for Covid-19 – just under half of all those who have been tested – although nineteen of those diagnosed are crew members.
And California’s Governor, Gavin Newsom, has refused the liner permission to dock over fears the virus could not be contained.
But following an exponential increase in cases on the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess, moored off Japan, relatives of elderly passengers are pushing for them to be evacuated.
Lisa Egan, whose 90-year-old father, Cliff, has suffered from deteriorating health in the past few days, told The Telegraph: ‘Keeping people on the ship is going to be a death sentence for many of the elderly passengers.
Families of British passengers stuck on board a coronavirus-hit cruise ship off the coast of California have pleaded for them to be evacuated. Pictured: The Grand Princess cruise ship passes the Golden Gate Bridge as it arrives from Hawaii
‘He has to take several medications daily, and he’s going to run out on Saturday. I’m sure that’s true for many passengers.’
Ms Egan urged Mr Newsom to lift the docking ban so that the most vulnerable passengers could be evacuated, saying that ports in San Francisco with limited public access could be used to disembark passengers.
The ship, which has more than 3,500 people on board including 140 Britons, is being directed to a non-commercial port, US vice-president Mike Pence said on Friday.
British Captain John Harry Smith was on Thursday at the helm of the liner while its passengers and crew waited to discover if they had been infected.
Passengers Neil and Victoria Hanlon from Bridgwater in Somerset, have said they are ‘fed up just sitting and lying around and getting no exercise’ while politicians remain at a standstill over how to deal with the boat
So far, 21 people on the Grand Princess have tested positive for Covid-19 – just under half of all those who have been tested – although nineteen of those diagnosed are crew members. Pictured: An interior view of the cruise ship’s lobby on March 5
The latest development on the stranded cruise ship comes as:
- The total of US cases passes 300, with the first reports of deaths on the East coast in Florida
- President Trump followed up his controversial tweet about the virus’ death rate by announcing that ‘anybody who wants a test can get a test’ despite shortages
- Silicon Valley continues to close its doors as major tech hubs of California and Seattle increasingly become virus hotspots
- Apple told all 12,000 employees at its headquarters Apple Park to remain home Friday, following similar guidance from Facebook and Microsoft
- Amazon and Facebook both have employees with the disease in Seattle
- City officials in Austin announced that South by South West festival is cancelled after dozens of stars and companies dropped out
- Most US cases have been linked to the Life Care Center nursing facility in Kirkland, near Seattle, which nine deaths are linked to
- It emerged that three days before the first cases were confirmed, the facility held a ‘germ-fest’ party meaning the spread could be far wider than thought
But some passengers, such as Neil and Victoria Hanlon from Bridgwater in Somerset, have said they were ‘fed up just sitting and lying around and getting no exercise’.
The couple had noticed some people looking very ill as long as a week ago, but remained ‘in the dark’ as to what was happening.
Speaking to ITV news, Mr Hanlon said: ‘We have passed a few people on the ship about a week ago who did look seriously ill, they had masks and stuff on.
‘We were in the lift with them which probably wasn’t a good thing.
‘They were going down to where the medical centre was. We asked them if they were okay – their breathing was horrendous.’
British Captain John Harry Smith was on Thursday at the helm of the liner while its passengers and crew waited to discover if they had been infected
Passengers on board the Grand Princess cruise ship, which had previously carried two passengers who contracted the coronavirus, watch while a U.S. military helicopter hovers
He said one man had told them he had bronchitis, but added ‘whether that was the truth, I don’t know’.
He added: ‘We were told last night they are going to start testing some more people today but who they are, I don’t know.’
The couple said they have set up a WhatsApp group with some other passengers.
Mrs Hanlon said: ‘There’s a really good entertainment package on the TV in the rooms so we’ve got a lot of films, there’s really good wifi, we’ve got a lot of magazine and books.’
Her husband joked: ‘If we’re here much longer, we’ll have to use our imaginations.’
Jackie Bissell, from Dartford in Kent, had booked the cruise with a friend as part of her 70th birthday celebrations.
She told Radio 4’s Today Programme on Saturday that passengers had only been told on Thursday that there might be something wrong.
She said: ‘We had a note popped through the door saying that this virus might be on the ship – they removed the salt, the pepper.
The Grand Princess is currently 400 miles off San Francisco and heading for port having returned from Hawaii after 11 passengers and 10 crew reported symptoms of coronavirus
‘We could touch absolutely nothing, if you wanted sugar in your tea or coffee they would come along and do it for you rather than you touching any of these items.
‘You can’t go out, you can just go out in the hall if someone taps the door. They put the food outside, drop your menus inside and that’s about it.’
But she said life on board ‘has not been too bad’ so far.
‘It was a bit mish mash yesterday but today they’ve got things a lot more organised,’ she said.
President Trump followed up his controversial tweet that the virus’ death rate was ‘too high’ by announcing that ‘anybody who wants a test can get a test’ despite widespread shortages
‘We’re very comfortable and everything you need will be brought to you – eventually – and we are absolutely fine and the ship is fine.’
Ms Bissell said those on board have been given very little information on what happens next.
‘The only information we’ve got is off the news and we can’t take that as gospel,’ she said.
‘We are waiting for the ship’s captain – but I think he’s as much in the dark as we are and he’s said he’s only giving us information as and when he gets it.’
The Grand Princess is owned by Princess Cruises, and a spokesman said on Friday evening: ‘We are awaiting official specific plans for future positioning of the ship from relevant authorities.
‘Princess Cruises will continue to closely follow the guidance of the CDC and other federal and state government authorities.’
US President Donald Trump appeared to be in favour of leaving the Grand Princess’s passengers where they are – apparently to avoid increasing the nation’s infection total.
Speaking at the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) campus in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday evening, he said: ‘I like the numbers being where they are. I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault.’
Princess Cruises also owns the Diamond Princess ship which was quarantined off the coast of Japan for several weeks earlier this year.
The ship became a breeding ground for the virus as staff continued to carry out their cooking, serving and cleaning duties while the ship was immobile.
Around 700 people caught coronavirus while in quarantine, more than a quarter of the 2,600 people on board.
The Japanese authorities later admitted the approach was flawed.
Dr Norio Ohmagari, director of the Disease Control and Prevention Centre at the Japanese government-funded National Centre for Global Health and Medicine, said the quarantine ‘may not have been perfect’.
In an interview with CNN, he said: ‘We suspected some of the cruise staff may already have been infected, but they had to operate the cruise ship itself, they had to see the passengers, they had to deliver the meals.
‘So that may have caused some close contact with the cruise ship workers and also the passengers.’
Apple has advised all 12,000 employees at its Cupertino headquarters to work from home
An estimated 54,000 Microsoft employees have been effected by office closures this week