Avoid cruises, says US State Department

San Francisco

THE United States is asking Americans to avoid cruise ships just as it prepares to move more than 3,000 passengers and crew off the Grand Princess vessel off California following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus on board.

Medical teams were set to enter the cruise ship on Monday after at least 20 people were confirmed to be infected with the virus. California governor Gavin Newsom said on Sunday that they will assess the condition of those on board the boat, which remains in open waters near Oakland, California. Patients who are most in need of hospitalisation will be the first to leave when the ship docks in Oakland, while others will be quarantined at military bases across the country.

The State Department's advisory on cruises comes as the Grand Princess, operated by Carnival Corp, joins a number of ships over the past two months either quarantined or banned entry from ports on virus fears. More than 700 cases were diagnosed on the Diamond Princess that was locked down off Japan for about two weeks in February. Other cruise-boat infections have also been identified, some after passengers disembarked.

The incidences are fuelling concern that cruises are breeding grounds for the virus, spreading as large numbers of people gather in the same area - often in close quarters - for long periods of time.

"US citizens, particularly travellers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship," the advisory said.

It added that "this is a fluid situation", and Americans cannot rely on repatriation flights as the risk of quarantine by local authorities increases.

The State Department also extended the advisory to avoid crowded places in general, including long plane rides, for the elderly and sick. Oakland, across the bay from San Francisco, has been selected as the best site for the Grand Princess to drop anchor as it is the easiest to seal off, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services said in a press release on Sunday. It is also the best site to securely move passengers toward their isolation destinations, and to ensure the safety of the public, said the statement.

US surgeon-general Jerome Adams, in an appearance on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday, said the passengers will not be released into the general public. "We are not going to put infected people into communities," he said. "Infected people will be quarantined, will be isolated appropriately so that we can make sure we're not putting communities at risk."

It is not clear what time the Grand Princess, filled with passengers from 54 countries, was to dock on Monday. The vessel, carrying 2,421 passengers and 1,113 crew members, was about two hours away from the Oakland port, said Mr Newsom.

"The City of Oakland, Alameda County and the Port of Oakland are stepping up in a major way," he said in a statement. "They are showing the world what makes our state great - coming to the rescue of thousands of people trapped aboard this ship and helping tackle a national emergency."

Almost 1,000 passengers who are California residents will be sent to Travis Air Force Base, about 80 km north-east of San Francisco, and Miramar Naval Air Station near San Diego, for a 14-day quarantine.

Those from other states will be quarantined at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland in Texas or Dobbins Air Force Base in Georgia. The crew will be isolated and treated aboard the ship, which will depart Oakland soon after disembarking passengers and remain at a different location for the staff's quarantine, the Office of Emergency Services said.

The global cruise industry is facing a moment of reckoning from Covid-19, with the State Department's warning a further blow striking at one of its key markets for passengers, the US.

A backlash has been brewing in Asia for the past month, with luxury liners refused permission to dock from a number of locations. Malaysia went a step further over the weekend, banning cruise ships altogether from its ports. BLOOMBERG