500 Filipino crew members of cruise ship docked off San Francisco being tested for COVID-19

March 5, 2020

Five hundred Filipino crew members on a cruise ship eing linked to the first death from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in California are undergoing tests.

In an interview Thursday,  Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the  500 Filipinos are aboard the Grand Princess held off the coast of San Francisco.

"They are doing the test right now and we have 500 Filipino crew members there," said Duque.

One of the ship's former passengers, a 71-year-old man, died from the coronavirus.

He was one of three persons, who tested positive for COVID-19, after traveling on the Grand Princess cruise from San Francisco to Mexico last month.

After the ship docked in San Francisco on February, thousands then began a roundtrip voyage to Hawaii.

Returning from Hawaii trip, eleven passengers and 10 crew members showed flu-like symptoms. 

If the cruise ship will undergo mandatory quarantine like the M/V Diamond Princess, Duque hoped mistakes of Japanese health authorities will not be repeated.

The Grand Princess and Diamond Princess are operated by the Princess Cruise Lines, Ltd. 

"Hopefully, they have learned their lesson from what had happened from the MV Diamond Princess in Yokohama, Japan. We hope that there won't be a repeat of the lapses that Japanese officials themselves admitted," said Duque. 

Among these, Duque related, are that the passengers were quarantined in their rooms, while crew members were allowed to serve passengers. 

Another lapse is the lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for crew members, who served passengers undergoing quarantine. 

"We will try to intervene every time that we feel that our compatriots might be put at risk. That is pretty much my position. We will make the representations if its going to put our compatriots at risk," said Duque. 

One way to avoid such lapses, the health chief said, is by having the passengers and crew members brought to a separate quarantine facility. 

"If they can be brought to a (separate) facility, that would be ideal. Because if they stay in the ship, the crew members will really have no choice but to serve," said Duque. 

Another measure, he said, is by having the crew members repatriated soonest. DMS