BOISE, Idaho — For the last several days, a massive cruise ship has circled the waters off the coast of California after 21 passengers and crew members tested positive for the coronavirus.
Over 3,500 people from 54 countries were on the Grand Princess cruise ship. One of those passengers is a Boise woman, Pam Barnhart.
She boarded the Grand Princess in San Fransico on Feb. 21, where they sailed to the Hawaiian islands then headed to Ensenada, Mexico.
On their way to the port in Ensenada, the Grand Princess was diverted to San Francisco after the crew learned that a man who had been on the ship during the previous cruise had died from the coronavirus.
"So then they did testing of crew here on our ship and there was 19 people that were diagnosed with it and two passengers," Barnhart said.
Twenty-one people on the Grand Princess are confirmed to have the novel coronavirus.
Barnhart said on Thursday after lunch, passengers were sent to their rooms and haven't been allowed out since. She explained that staff have been leaving meals outside their doors for them to pick up and the cruise is offering free WiFi and movies to keep everyone busy.
The Grand Princess is expected to dock in Oakland on Monday. According to Barnhart, the captain told the 3,500 passengers that the process to disembark could take several days and that they won't be able to go home.
"They say that they will then be heading us out to Texas or Georgia for quarantine," she said. "I just think it's frustrating not knowing what we're doing and when."
Barnhart said she doesn't feel sick or scared but is thankful to have a room with a balcony so she can get fresh air.
Facts not fear: Putting COVID-19 into context
The majority of people who have coronavirus will get better without any long-term effects, according to an Oregon doctor. About 82% of cases tend to be mild. In these cases, symptoms diminish over five to seven days, although people are still capable of transmitting the disease. But there are many people with a higher risk of having a more severe disease if they are diagnosed with coronavirus, including those with heart disease, diabetes, asthma and other vascular disease problems.
Also, most children who get it have mild symptoms.
To put the coronavirus numbers in context, millions of Americans get the flu every single year and there are thousands of flu deaths annually.
Since October 2019, the CDC estimates around 32 million Americans have gotten the flu. That’s one in every 10 Americans.
Since the coronavirus outbreak began late last year, there have been around 80,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in China. That means those cases account for just around .0056% of China's population.”
Facts not fear: More on coronavirus
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