Grand Princess Coronavirus Discussion (retitled after merger of several topics)

[CruisinCindy]

We were on the SF Mexico cruise and live in Alameda Co.  Is there anyone here who was on our cruise and also lives in Alameda Co who has been contacted by the County Health department?  We have not been contacted by anyone yet.  Placer Co contacted all their cruise residents yesterday.  The counties got our passenger list on Wednesday from the Governors Office and were supposed to be contacting all the Mexico passengers.

[clskinsfan]

4 minutes ago, flyguyjake said:

Regarding keeping the passengers quarantined on the ship...  The President said this...

 

“I like the numbers being where they are. I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship” — Trump explains that he doesn’t want to let people off the Grand Princess cruise ship because he doesn’t want the number of coronavirus cases in the country to go up pic.twitter.com/ELhZDjiZW9

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 6, 2020

I watched the press conference. He also said he gave full authority to the CDC to do what the think is right.

[NorthwestCruiser]

 

I don't know if this is in reaction to the Grand Princess situation or just a coincidence, but the CDC has just issued some rather dramatic new advice:

 

CDC tells "older adults" to stay home

 

Older adults and people who have severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease seem to be at higher risk for more serious COVID-19 illness. Early data suggest older people are twice as likely to have serious COVID-19 illness.

 

What to do if you are at higher risk:

• Stay at home as much as possible.
• Make sure you have access to several weeks of medications and supplies in case you need to stay home for prolonged periods of time.
• When you go out in public, keep away from others who are sick, limit close contact and wash your hands often.
• Avoid crowds.

 

Note that in Washington state they are defining "older adult" as "over 60".    The risk of death rises for people over 40 according to the China study, so it would be nice if the CDC could be a bit more specific.

[clskinsfan]

1 minute ago, Mackenzie1 said:

Dr. Sanjay Gupta just said on CNN that only 46 people onboard the Grand were actually tested of the thousands onboard. Apparently, there aren’t as many test kits available as we thought there were, but who knows. 

They only tested the passengers with symptoms.

[leongcpa]

3 minutes ago, Mackenzie1 said:

Dr. Sanjay Gupta just said on CNN that only 46 people onboard the Grand were actually tested of the thousands onboard. Apparently, there aren’t as many test kits available as we thought there were, but who knows. 

Exactly. If we had a million test kits available, don't you think they would have enough to test a few thousand on the Grand Princess? Why only test those with symptoms when we know that people can be asymptomatic and spread the virus?

Edited March 7, 2020 by leongcpa

[brisalta]

37 minutes ago, snowblower said:

They have to sail about 280 nautical miles.  The Grand's speed according to ship trackers is approximately 11 knots.  It will take about 25 hours to sail to the navy port if they stay at their present speed.

 

It appears the Grand is currently just south of Pescadero.

[Covepointcruiser]

You are supposed to do a self quarantine.   Contact your local health department.   Here I thought California’s governor had announced this.

[brisalta]

2 minutes ago, clskinsfan said:

They only tested the passengers with symptoms.

They tested crew also.

[clskinsfan]

1 minute ago, leongcpa said:

Exactly. If we had a million test kits available, don't you think they would have enough to test a few thousand on the Grand Princess? Why only test those with symptoms when we know that people can be asymptomatic and spread the virus?

They are going to test EVERY SINGLE PERSON on the ship. 

[clskinsfan]

2 minutes ago, brisalta said:

They tested crew also.

If they had symptoms yes.

[brisalta]

6 minutes ago, CruisinCindy said:

We were on the SF Mexico cruise and live in Alameda Co.  Is there anyone here who was on our cruise and also lives in Alameda Co who has been contacted by the County Health department?  We have not been contacted by anyone yet.  Placer Co contacted all their cruise residents yesterday.  The counties got our passenger list on Wednesday from the Governors Office and were supposed to be contacting all the Mexico passengers.

 

I would call the Alameda County Public Health Department. You may find relevant information at http://www.acphd.org/

 

[clskinsfan]

Here is a link to this afternoons press briefing. For those that missed it:

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/06/watch-mike-pence-delivers-updates-on-coronavirus-in-press-briefing.html

[cruiserchuck]

36 minutes ago, junglejane said:

Another possible destination is Oakland/Alameda, including next to the USS Hornet.  A lesser used dock would be desirable as the ship may be tied up for some time.  If they continue sailing in circles tonight (as they have all day), it suggests they are staying closer to the Bay Area.  

 

I would think they would want to stay close to where they are, so Oakland/Alameda makes sense.  

[brisalta]

56 minutes ago, psuboater said:

Also, in between the two cruises, there was a conference held at the Pier from the 23rd-26th. So if someone who disembarked had touched any surface or came in contact with  a port worker, there's a possibility that someone was carrying the virus to this conference, especially with someone who worked at the port. Those conference members came from across the country, so this can all get interesting really quickly. 

 

Are you referring to Pier 27 which is the cruise terminal, or some other pier?

Edited March 7, 2020 by brisalta

[leongcpa]

4 minutes ago, clskinsfan said:

They are going to test EVERY SINGLE PERSON on the ship. 

My question is: Why hasn't that been done already? Speed is of the essence. There has already been at least one death  from the coronavirus among past passengers who got off the ship 14 days ago. A few days early could save lives among those who are on the ship now because we can get them supportive health care earlier. Time matters.

[brisalta]

The following has been updated:

https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/grand-princess-updates.htm

 

 

Updated March 6, 2020 5:00PM PT

Grand Princess Update

Princess Cruises can confirm that the results from the first phase of health screenings of 45 guests and crew onboard Grand Princess were completed. We were notified by Vice President Pence while he was conducting a press conference and simultaneously by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control (CDC) speaking to our shipboard doctor that among the samples tested, 21 people have tested positive for COVID-19 which includes two (2) guests and 19 crew.

The ship’s doctor is in the process of informing the guests and crew of their individual results. All guests and affected crew will remain isolated in their rooms.

We are awaiting official specific plans for future positioning of the ship from relevant authorities. Princess Cruises will continue to closely follow the guidance of the CDC and other federal and state government authorities.

Guests will continue to be provided complimentary internet and telephone to stay in contact with their families and loved ones, and the ship’s company is working to keep all guests comfortable.

The ship has quickly transitioned food & beverage service to provide Room Service for all staterooms.

We are working with CDC to determine what additional precautionary measures, if any, will be required.

Princess Cruises medical team is collecting information from guests regarding any medication prescription refills needs.

Princess Cruises can confirm there are 3,533 people currently onboard Grand Princess, including 2,422 guests and 1,111 teammates. In total, they represent 54 nationalities.

# # #

EDITOR’S NOTE: Carnival Corporation and Princess Cruises will be hosting a media call on Saturday, March 7, 2020 with details to be provided separately.

---

[Tedferg]

1 minute ago, leongcpa said:

My question is: Why hasn't that been done already? Speed is of the essence. There has already been at least one death  from the coronavirus among past passengers who got off the ship 14 days ago. A few days early could save lives among those who are on the ship now because we can get them supportive health care earlier. Time matters.

IMHO not sure it helps to test people who are asymptomatic, though you do have a point that people who were not on Mexico cruise might have been exposed. 

[ano]

1 hour ago, BigGuy25 said:

Out of 46 people tested, 21 test positive ... 19 crew and 2 passengers.   Ship will be brought to port and all passengers to be tested.

 

Won't be docked in San Francisco, but will be brought to a non-commercial port.

 

Testing sounds great, but testing all the passengers and crew on just this ship would be more tests performed than currently have been tested across the U.S. to date. (Although 400,000 test kits have been promised for several weeks now.)

 

For comparison, South Korea is reporting that 150,000 test have been performed to date.

Edited March 7, 2020 by ano

[pandi77]

 

 

[bluesea321]

"Hawaii's first case of coronavirus is a former passenger of the Grand Princess cruise ship"

 

https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1236102168274485249

 

[lostchild]

7 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

IMHO not sure it helps to test people who are asymptomatic, though you do have a point that people who were not on Mexico cruise might have been exposed. 

 

The test could detect asymptomatic carriers I think.   Also because Pence said they will test everyone and so they have to test everyone...

"All passengers and crew will be tested for the coronavirus," Pence said. "Those that need to be quarantined will be quarantined. Those that require additional medical attention will receive it."

[leongcpa]

6 minutes ago, lostchild said:

 

The test could detect asymptomatic carriers I think.   Also because Pence said they will test everyone and so they have to test everyone...

"All passengers and crew will be tested for the coronavirus," Pence said. "Those that need to be quarantined will be quarantined. Those that require additional medical attention will receive it."

 

Time is of the essence. They cannot wait until next week to get tested. We know this is a disease that can go from mild to serious to death in a matter of days. It's infuriating to me that we aren't moving faster.

Edited March 7, 2020 by leongcpa

[TwoMisfits]

17 minutes ago, leongcpa said:

My question is: Why hasn't that been done already? Speed is of the essence. There has already been at least one death  from the coronavirus among past passengers who got off the ship 14 days ago. A few days early could save lives among those who are on the ship now because we can get them supportive health care earlier. Time matters.

 

Probably b/c they want to avoid accidentally contaminating other people while doing tests...if testers have to don protective gear on and off, over and over...that will take forever to do 3500...

 

But I don't know how they are getting tests done...and if there's a way for people to self-administer tests and leave them to be taken (and if we'd trust them to do them correctly)...

[hapster85]

Currently it is believed that you need some amount of extended contact to get the virus, so you won't get it from walking next to somebody.  That is why contact tracing is still thought to be useful.  However that may change as we get more information.  Someone on the WHO conference pointed out that if it were indeed so contagious that very casual contact could spread it, there would be a lot more cases already.
 

Hopefully that continues to be the case. Still presents a Herculean task.

[Tedferg]

1 minute ago, lostchild said:

 

The test could detect asymptomatic carriers I think.   Also because Pence said they will test everyone and so they have to test everyone...

"All passengers and crew will be tested for the coronavirus," Pence said. "Those that need to be quarantined will be quarantined. Those that require additional medical attention will receive it."

OK got it, I was thinking, for example, of testing everyone to see if they have the Flu. I currently have a cough, probably hay fever but DW thought it might be a cold and I should not play golf. Took my temperature and it was fine. I played and there were a couple of times on a Par Five that I thought maybe I should have stayed at home 🙂