MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th March, 2020) The coronavirus-hit Grand Princess cruise ship stranded off the coast of California has received permission to enter the port of Oakland in the San Francisco Bay, the Californian branch of the CBS broadcaster, KPIX5 TV, reported on Sunday.
According to the media outlet, citing the Princess Cruise company's press release, the deboarding process will take at least two days.
"CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] has just informed us that further modifications of the plan are necessary and will impact the arrival of the ship. The ship will now arrive in the Port of Oakland on Monday, time TBD," KPIX5 tv cited the cruise officials' email as saying.
Before disembarking, all passengers will be screened for the COVID-19. Any passenger requiring medical treatment will be hospitalized.
"According to Governor's Office of Emergency Services, following health screenings, guests who are California residents will go to a federally operated facility within California for testing and isolation, while non-Californians will be transported by the Federal government to facilities in other states. Crew will be quarantined and treated aboard the ship," the company was quoted as saying by the media outlet.
There are over 3,500 people on board Grand Princess, 21 of them (19 crew and 2 guests) have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The US Department of State confirmed on Saturday that there were four Russian citizens on board of the cruise ship.
The total death toll from COVID-19 in the United States now stands at 19. The latest Saturday update from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put the death toll at 11, while the Johns Hopkins count shows 17 coronavirus deaths in the US.
