British skipper keeps order on detained ship as relatives call for passengers to be rescued
A BRITISH captain is at the centre of a row over whether to evacuate a ship of sick passengers after it was refused permission to dock in San Francisco following a coronavirus death.
Reports have emerged from the Grand Princess that several passengers require urgent assistance after feeling increasingly unwell from previously existing conditions.
Captain John Harry Smith was last night at the helm of the cruise liner as passengers and crew waited to discover if any of them had contracted the virus.
Samples were taken from 45 guests and crew after the California National Guard flew in test kits on Thursday.
Passengers were confined to quarters pending the results, with Gavin Newson, California’s state governor, refusing the ship permission to dock.
But relatives of some of those on board say the cruise ship should be evacuated. Lisa Egan, whose 90-yearold father has been in deteriorating health, said: “Keeping people on board is going to be a death sentence for many.”
The Trump administration is reportedly considering travel restrictions on cruise passengers. Other options include advising Americans against taking cruises.
Mr Newsom imposed the ban after two of the Grand Princess’s passengers fell ill upon leaving the ship when it returned from a previous voyage between San Francisco and Mexico last month. One 71-year-old man from California subsequently died from Covid-19.
A second death with suspected links to the Grand Princess was under investigation after a 75-year-old man who died after returning from the cruise tested positive. Capt Smith now has the task of maintaining order and calm aboard, ensuring quarantine measures are strictly followed.
Another of the ships operated by Princess Cruises, the Diamond Princess, was quarantined in Japan early last month for 27 days.
Six of its passengers – including a Briton – died after contracting the virus, amid widespread criticism of what appeared to be chaotic arrangements for keeping passengers separate.
Princess Cruises confirmed 21 British crew and 121 British passengers were on the Grand Princess. More than 20 of the 2,500 on board – 11 passengers and 10 crew members – have reported symptoms that could turn out to be coronavirus.
Meanwhile, another cruise ship was forced to divert after doctors on Malta threatened to strike if it was allowed to dock amid fears over coronavirus. MSC Opera, carrying 2,302 passengers and crew, was diverting to Messina, Sicily.
An Austrian who left the ship in Genoa, Italy, was later diagnosed with the virus, but the ship’s owners said it had been cleared by local health authorities in each port.