Virus-stricken cruise ship to dock in Oakland

A cruise ship carrying people infected with the coronavirus will dock in the port of Oakland, Calif., the vessel’s captain told passengers and crew Saturday night.

“An agreement has been reached to bring our ship into the port of Oakland,” Grand Princess Capt. John Smith told passengers, according to The Associated Press, citing a recording provided by a passenger. “After docking, we will then begin a disembarkation process specified by federal authorities that will take several days.”

Smith reportedly said any passengers needing hospitalization or medical treatment will be transported to California health care facilities while those who don’t require such care “will go to a federally operated isolation facility within California for testing and isolation.” The ship’s crew will be quarantined and treated aboard.

The ship, which is carrying more than 3,500 people from 54 countries, was earlier barred from docking in San Francisco.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Sunday that nearly 1,000 passengers who are California residents will complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine at Travis Air Force Base and Miramar Naval Air Station. Residents of other states will be quarantined at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland in Texas or Dobbins Air Force Base in Georgia.

“The Department of State is working closely with the home countries of several hundred passengers to arrange for repatriation to their countries,” HHS added in a statement.

Vice President Pence has said at least 21 people aboard the ship have tested positive for the virus. President Trump said during an appearance Friday at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that he would “rather have the people stay” on board to avoid increasing the number of cases in the U.S.

Another ship, the Diamond Princess, was previously quarantined for two weeks in the port of Yokohama, Japan, with about 700 people aboard becoming infected during the period.