By FIONA KELLIHER | fkelliher@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: March 9, 2020 at 7:55 a.m. | UPDATED: March 9, 2020 at 1:14 p.m.
After days at sea and amid rising panic over coronavirus, the Grand Princess cruise ship docked in the Port of Oakland midday Monday.
The ship’s much-anticipated arrival means some of the 3,500 people aboard will finally disembark and head to different locations in California and around the world for testing and quarantine.
The Grand Princess traveled off the coast Monday morning, passing first under San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and then the Bay Bridge, before entering the port. Workers in vests stood across at the docking area in front of beige tents nearby, along with what appeared to be tour buses.
As the ship neared the shoreline, nearly all its balconies were full with passengers looking out in anticipation. One person walked along the top deck, waving what appeared to be a white handkerchief.
Flanked by several tugboats, the boat finally came to rest near Berth 22.
Passengers in need of medical support or hospitalization will disembark first, along with those who are symptomatic or tested positive for coronavirus. Then the nearly 1,000 Californians on the ship will get off, followed by those from outside the state.
Disembarking the California residents aboard the ship will take the “greater part” of Monday, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said. The crewmembers will be quarantined aboard the ship, officials said, except for those who are in need of medical care who will be transferred to a California medical facility.
The ship will leave the Port of Oakland after disembarking passengers, officials said, but it’s not clear where exactly it’s headed. Plans for the crew quarantine were “still being determined” as of late Sunday, according to cruise operator Princess Cruises.
Of the 3,535 people aboard the Grand Princess, 21 have tested positive for the coronavirus; 19 are crew members and two are passengers. But just 45 people on board were tested — meaning that public health officials are gearing up to test the remaining 3,490 passengers and crew at quarantine sites.
The cruise ship, which idled off the coast on Sunday while officials prepared for its arrival, has returned from Hawaii. Word that a 71-year-old Placer County passenger had died of the illness prompted the cancellation of its final stop in Ensenada, Mexico.
The #GrandPrincess has arrived. I feel like I’ve been following this ship for the last few days & made it just in time for its arrival. The Golden Gate Bridge always welcomes everyone. Be kind. (@MarineTraffic has been an amazing tool & data aggregator for tracking in real time)
Californians who have not been tested — or who tested negative — will be moved to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield or Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego for a mandatory 14-day quarantine and medical monitoring for signs of an infection, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Governor Gavin Newsom said Sunday in a press conference that passengers will be carefully contained to avoid contact with the public during the transportation and quarantine process.
Although state and national officials considered various Bay Area ports, they decided on Oakland in part for its ability to accommodate a ship of the Grand Princess’s size and surrounding land that could be easily secured.
Port officials weren’t expecting any impact on port operations, said Port of Oakland Director of Communications Mike Zampa. He said the area the ship was docking is mostly used for short term cargo storage and truck parking.
Bill Aboudi, president of the transport company Oakland Port Services Corporation, said business at the port has already been slow — so he hasn’t witnessed a logistical impact from the arrival or preparation of the ship. But some truck drivers — operating just a few hundred yards from the dock — have been concerned by what he called a lack of information from the port.
“We haven’t heard anything or received any information,” he said. “We want more info.”
Without direction from the port about how to handle — or stay away from — the ship, he said, “drivers get scared.”
The port is also located close to Travis Air Force Base, where a large number of U.S. coronavirus patients have been quarantined, and to Oakland International Airport.
Private charter planes are planned to take passengers out of North Field at the airport, Zampa said, but declined to confirm details on how many flights and passengers were scheduled.
As of Sunday, state officials that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in California had topped 100, including five new coronavirus cases in both Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties, bringing the counties’ respective totals to 37 and nine. San Francisco reported five new cases Monday, bringing its total to 13.