21 On Cruise Ship Test Positive for Coronavirus. All Others to be Tested.

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Of the 45 Grand Princess cruise ship passengers and crew tested for the coronavirus on Thursday, 21 have tested positive for the pathogen. That’s according to Vice President Mike Pence who made the annoucement at a Friday afternoon news conference.

The Grand Princess cruise ship has not been allowed back into port and is sitting offshore of San Francisco. Test kits were delivered by helicopter on Thursday.

Several passengers who disembarked in San Francisco on February 21st from a Mexican Riviera cruise operated by the same ship have since tested positive for the coronavirus, including two Sonoma County residents. The ship has since made a roundtrip voyage to Hawaii.

One of the passengers on the Mexican cruise, a 71 year old man from the Sacramento area, has since died, becoming the first coronavirus death in California.

24 of the 45 passengers tested returned negative test results. Of the 21 positive tests, 19 were crew members. As a result, all passengers and crew on board the ship, more than 3500 people, will be tested for the coronavirus.

It has yet to be determined where or when the ship will be allowed back into port. At the news conference Pence said his task force will be working with Governor Gavin Newsom on a plan to allow the ship to dock at a non-commercial port. Passengers have reportedly been asked to stay in their rooms, and Princess Cruise Line is in contact with the CDC to determine when passengers may be allowed more freedom.

According to reports, the passengers on board the Grand Princess learned of the test results via the press briefing, forcing ship operators to apologize to passengers, saying they were not informed that the news would be made public at the press briefing.