Grand Princess Passengers Settle Into New Normal; Coronavirus Quarantine Under Guard At Military Bases
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- While the remaining passengers awaited to finally depart the Grand Princess moored at an Oakland shipyard Wednesday, others were nestling in at military bases in Northern California, Texas and Georgia, beginning a federally enforced 14-day coronavirus quarantine under heavy security.
The California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) said Wednesday that some U.S. citizens who disembarked from the ship would be relocated to a hotel in San Carlos which has a capacity to house 120 individuals and currently has no guests. The passengers being relocated there would not have interaction with the general public, Cal OES said.
Princess Cruise officials confirmed by late Tuesday evening that a total of 1,406 people out of more than 2,000 passengers aboard the luxury liner when it docked on Monday had disembarked. Steve Berry and his wife, Joni, were among the passengers who left the ship on Tuesday.
Berry, who lives in Granbury, Texas, walked down the gangplank with his wife, was whisked into a medical tent and examined for signs of the coronavirus, taken to Oakland International Airport and placed on a charter jet with fellow Texans headed to Joint Base San Antonio Lackland.
"I hope someone in higher ups starts to listen to reason," he posted from his seat on the plane. "Everyone on our plane, our bus, seems fine and not sick. Progress is slower than I would like but at least turtle won the race. See you in Texas."
His wife Joni described the arrival process several hours later.
"Got off at Lackland in San Antonio and went into a huge airplane hanger where they took our temperature, gave us paperwork about what is ahead and said our 14 days of quarantine started today!" she posted. "Now we are in our apartment (Lackland Inn). It's a 1 bedroom, 1 bath, small kitchen and 2 chairs in the living area.
"They will check our temperature 2x a day. We can go outside and walk around but cannot get close to anyone else...A very emotional day especially now that we are here but God has a plan for all of this."
The Berry's were not alone. Several hundred evacuees were in a hotel behind a large chain-linked fence at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield. The base, which hosted evacuees from the Diamond Princess airlift last month, was one of the sites specially designed for California residents on the Grand Princess.
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At an afternoon news conference, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the priority of evacuations was "the most acute first, Californians second and non-Californians."
"This is a very difficult time for you, another 14 days for many of you to be quarantined but it's all about not only your safety and your family members and your community when you come back," said Newsom.
26 cruise ship passengers were taken to hospitals in six different Bay Area counties for medical needs unrelated to COVID-19. But not all of them required further hospital care and some of them were taken to motels and hotels in Burlingame, San Carlos and in Monterey County.
"These [hotels] are 100 percent secure, 100 percent segregated from the general public. These are secure not only when it come to security, but from a protocol perspective and processing perspective," said Newsom. "Perhaps some of the most safest sites in the community."
234 Canadian passengers disembarked from the cruise ship on Monday and were taken to a chartered flight that brought them back to their native country, while two Canadian passengers transported via ambulance to area hospitals for treatment.
Canadian health officials said a third Canadian citizen was diagnosed with the coronavirus in a post-flight examination.
"The case was identified during the initial screening and medical assessments conducted when the passengers arrived at the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, Ontario, where they will complete a 14-day quarantine," Canadian officials said in a release. "Only passengers who did not have symptoms of COVID-19 upon boarding were permitted to return to Canada on the flight chartered by the Government of Canada. Upon medical assessment at Trenton, one passenger recorded a mild fever and a cough, and a laboratory test confirmed COVID-19. The individual is in isolation at the facility."
Another group of evacuees arrived by special charter at Dobbins Air Force Base in Georgia early Wednesday morning. Base officials didn't specify the number of patients now on base, but they've said previously they were planning for dozens.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will have full responsibility for all aspects of the quarantine, and Dobbins' personnel will have no contact with the passengers, the base's statement said.
The ordeal for the passengers and crew aboard the Grand Princess began about a week ago. Many passengers from a previous voyage -- a roundtrip journey from San Francisco to Mexico on Feb. 11-21 -- began to fall ill with the virus and when one died -- a 71-year-old Rocklin man -- cruise officials ordered the ship to forgo its final stop in Mexico and return to San Francisco.
Newsom refused to allow the Grand Princess to dock in California until tests were administered to 45 passengers and crew aboard exhibiting flu-like symptoms. The ship was ordered to maintain a holding pattern off the San Francisco coast where it remain sailing a looping course for nearly five days. All passengers were confined to their quarters. Tests eventually revealed 19 crew members and two passengers were positive for the coronavirus.
Late Saturday night, state and federal officials agreed to allow the ship to dock in Oakland on Monday and the lengthy deboarding process began at the dock within the busy commercial Port Of Oakland.
