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| Princess Cruises said there were 3,533 people currently onboard the Grand Princess, including 2,422 passengers and 1,111 crew (AFP Photo/Handout) |
Los Angeles (AFP) - Passengers trapped aboard a US cruise ship, stranded by a coronavirus outbreak, spoke of their growing anxiety on Saturday as New York state announced a state of emergency over a spike in new cases.
One of the
holidaymakers onboard the Grand Princess told AFP the captain announced early
Saturday there was "still no word on when or where we will be
docking."
Carolyn
Wright, a professional photographer traveling with a friend, said passengers
were earlier told it was unlikely the ship would dock on Saturday.
Authorities
have said 21 people on the ship languishing 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the
coast of San Francisco tested positive for the new coronavirus -- 19 crew members
and two passengers.
The
fast-spreading virus has already killed 19 people in the United States, most of
them residents of a nursing home in the western state of Washington.
New York on
Saturday became the latest state to declare an emergency over the virus as the
number of patients there rose to 76, including a driver who apparently worked
for ride sharing company Uber.
Emergency
declarations allow federal, state and local officials quicker access to funds
to battle the outbreak.
Governor
Andrew Cuomo said 57 of those infected in New York have links to the Orthodox
Jewish community in New Rochelle, a city in Westchester County, 20 miles (32
kilometers) northwest of New York city.
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Florida
Senator Rick Scott, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and
Vice
President Mike Pence discuss the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the
cruise industry on March 7, 2020 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (AFP Photo/JOE
RAEDLE)
|
"Westchester
is an obvious problem," Cuomo said. "We talk about contagion in
clusters; clusters tend to infect more and more people."
Vice
President Mike Pence, who is in charge of the US government's response to the
COVID-19 outbreak, met on Saturday in Florida with cruise line executives and
reiterated that the government was doing its utmost to prevent the spread of
the virus.
'Practice
common sense'
He said the
stranded cruise ship would be brought to a non-commercial dock over the weekend
and all 3,533 passengers and crew would be tested.
"All
passengers and crew will be tested for the coronavirus and quarantined as
appropriate," he told reporters. "Those that require additional
medical attention will also receive it."
He
underscored that while the risk of contracting the virus was low for the
average American, older people with underlying health issues are particularly
vulnerable.
"If
you are yourself a senior citizen with a serious underlying medical condition,
or if you have a loved one with a serious underlying medical condition, it is
just a good time to practice common sense," he said.
The Grand
Princess had been scheduled to dock in San Francisco on Saturday after a 14-day
cruise but has been held off the coast since Wednesday after it emerged that
two passengers who had been on a previous voyage had contracted the virus. One
of them later died.
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The
international departure terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) in
New York
was nearly deserted on March 7, 2020 (AFP Photo/SPENCER PLATT)
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Wright said although there didn't seem to be panic among passengers, there was growing concern and frustration.
"So
far we are both fine and we are really hoping to stay that way," she told
AFP, speaking about her traveling companion.
"My
friend has COPD (pulmonary disease) and she is extremely concerned about the
virus."
Little
information
She said
passengers -- who have been confined to their cabins since Thursday -- at one
point on Friday were told they would be allowed out for fresh air, but the idea
was nixed by health authorities.
Another
passenger, quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle, said he and his wife had also
received little information about the outbreak from crew members.
Daniel
Healy, 56, told the paper he has run out of diabetes medication and wasn't
getting much help from the crew.
Gloves and
face masks were delivered to the Grand Princess by helicopter late Friday.
Worldwide,
the number of virus cases exceeds 100,000 and the overall death toll is more
than 3,500 across 95 nations and territories, according to the latest count by
AFP.