DFA: At least 530 Filipino crew aboard MV Grand Princess cruise ship off Northern California awaiting test results for COVID-19; DOH looking for other quarantine sites

DFA: At least 530 Filipino crew aboard cruise ship awaiting test results for COVID-19
Christia Marie Ramos - March 06, 2020 https://globalnation.inquirer.net/185936/dfa-at-least-530-filipino-crew-...

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed on Friday that there are at least 530 Filipino crew members of a cruise ship now anchored off Northern California on suspicion of carrying the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

DFA Assistant Secretary Eduardo Meñez confirmed this to reporters in a Viber message.

“We confirm that there are Filipino crew members on board the MV Grand Princess, and in similar number as the Diamond Princess of around 530 – 540 Filipino crew out of 1,111 total crew,” Meñez said.

“We do not have confirmations about Filipino passengers yet,” he added.

Meñez noted that there are “passengers and crew of unidentified nationalities who are exhibiting symptoms and are being tested accordingly” aboard the Grand Princess.

DOH looking for other quarantine sites for Filipinos on cruise ship in US
CNN Philippines Staff Mar 6, 2020 https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/3/6/Coronavirus-Grand-Princess-crui...

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 6) — The Health Department is scouting for other options where Filipinos on board a docked cruise ship in the United States may be quarantined.

Health Assistant Maria Rosario Vergeire on Friday told CNN Philippines preparations are underway for the possible repatriation of around 530 to 540 Filipino crew on board the MV Grand Princess, where one man died due to coronavirus.

"Definitely we are preparing other quarantine facilities," she said.

The Filipinos previously brought home from China's Wuhan province were quarantined in the New Clark City in Tarlac. Over 400 Filipino crew members from the Diamond Princess cruise ship are set to complete their 14-day quarantine on March 11 in the same facility.

Vergeire said there is no formal request of repatriation from the MV Grand Princess yet.

Coronavirus testing is underway for cruise ship passengers and crew aboard the vessel anchored in San Francisco, California, a passenger told CNN on Friday. Nearly 100 passengers have been identified as needing to be tested, including guests and staff.

Almost 3,500 — 2,383 passengers and 1,100 crew members — are quarantined inside the cruise ship after the vessel wasn't allowed to dock anytime soon; the 15-day trip was scheduled to return to US on Saturday.

The Grand Princess previously carried a passenger who has become the first person to die from coronavirus in California. Its operator, Princess Cruises, said there is currently no confirmed cases of coronavirus on the ship.

This situation is compared with the case of the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was docked for 14 days in Japan after a few people were infected with coronavirus. More than 700 people on board became infected with coronavirus.