Thousands of passengers on board the cruise ship Grand Princess were waiting until March 10 to leave the ship, which was moored in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now hundreds of passengers will be shipped to military bases for at least two weeks of quarantine.
The ship was idling for days off the northern California coast, due to evidence that it was the carrying passengers that had contracted COVID-19. Namely, the ship was carrying 3,500 passengers and crew on board, including 21 who had tested positive for the virus.
From the passengers, around two dozen needed acute medical care, and were taken off the ship first on March 9. However, it was not clear how many had tested positive for the virus.
In addition, several of the almost 240 Canadians on board, left the ship after the critically ill departed and stood outside two tents with Canadian flags. Canada and Britain have sent chartered flights to retrieve their citizens. The ship was carrying people from 54 countries, and foreigners were to be flown back to their countries.
What is more, about 150 Californians who left the ship were sent to Travis air force base, where they will be on quarantine.