Edhat Staff
Crown Princess cruise ship docked in the waters off Santa Barbara in 2015 (Photo: Steve Bissell)
By edhat staff
California’s first coronavirus death came from a cruise ship that’s scheduled to dock in Santa Barbara later this month.
The state reported its first death due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on Wednesday. The victim is a Placer County man who recently took a cruise.
Officials believe the victim contracted the virus on a February 11-21 cruise aboard the Grand Princess that traveled between San Francisco and Mexico. The unidentified man is described as being 71-years-old with underlying health conditions.
The Grand Princess cruise ship cancelled its current route to Ensenada and is now headed back to the San Francisco area with 2,500 people on board. It’s unclear exactly where it will dock.
“Public health officials have advised that no guests will be permitted to disembark until all results have been received,” Princess Cruises said in a statement. However, not everyone onboard will be tested but only identified groups of guests and crew determined by the CDC, reports CNN.
There are approximately 21 people onboard who have developed symptoms of illness.
“There are fewer than 100 guests and crew identified for testing, including all in-transit guests (guests who were on the previous Mexico voyage and remained onboard for the current Hawaii voyage), those guests and crew who have experienced influenza-like illness symptoms on this voyage, and guests currently under care for respiratory illness,” according to the cruise line.
Cruise Ships and Santa Barbara
As of Thursday, there are no cases of COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County. Officials state the health risk to the public remains low at this time.
Santa Barbara County officials and the Public Health Department (PHD) state they have been planning and preparing should COVID-19 be identified in the county.
The Amadea cruise ship arrived on Wednesday morning and departed in the evening. On March 24, the Grand Princess cruise ship, the same ship that carried an infected passenger who died this week and is headed to San Francisco, is scheduled to arrive in Santa Barbara. It’s unknown if this ship will still continue with its scheduled trip to the area.
As of now, the City of Santa Barbara stated it has not cancelled any scheduled cruise ship visits but will continue to monitor the situation and take actions based on recommendations from the PHD and Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The CDC and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) are tasked with evaluating each incoming cruise ship and will not allow it to port/disembark in Santa Barbara unless it is deemed safe to do so, according to the City of Santa Barbara.
Coronavirus in California
There are currently 36 active cases of COVID-19 in California as Governor Gavin Newsom announced a State of Emergency yesterday due to the rapid spread of the virus. Newsom made the declaration to make additional resources available, formalize emergency actions already underway across multiple state agencies and departments, and help the state prepare for a broader spread of COVID-19.
“The State of California is deploying every level of government to help identify cases and slow the spread of this coronavirus,” said Governor Newsom. “This emergency proclamation will help the state further prepare our communities and our health care system in the event it spreads more broadly.”
The emergency proclamation includes provisions that protect consumers against price gouging, allow for health care workers to come from out of state to assist at health care facilities, and give health care facilities the flexibility to plan and adapt to accommodate incoming patients. Millions of N95 masks were released as the state secured the capacity to test thousands of specimens from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expedite testing.
Los Angeles County is reporting seven confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday. One person is hospitalized and five are isolated in their home while being monitored.
Many of the cases in California are travel-related, according to the California Department of Public Health. The first case of unknown origin was a patient admitted to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento in February. This prompted new testing guidelines from the CDC.
Officials Urge Public to Stop Panicking
Many officials are urging the general population not to panic and to take the same general precautions during the regular flu season.
Edhat reader John Wiley posted a photo of empty store shelves in Costco this week sparking a discussion about panic. What do the experts say? There’s no need to panic-buy supplies.
“Panic-buying happens when people worry about the scarcity of supplies,” says Steven Taylor, professor and clinical psychologist at the University of British Columbia, who specializes in the psychology of pandemics. “Some people rush to supermarkets and so forth in the hope of getting ahead of the crowd. But in reality, those people are simple panic-buyers who happen to arrive early,” reports NBC News.
Stop the spread of germs by:
- Avoiding close contact with people who are sick
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue then throw it in the trash
- Do not cough or sneeze into your hands, use your elbow if needed
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces such as door handles, cell phones, and keys.
- Washin your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
- Stay home if you are sick. If your symptoms worsen, call your doctor first before visiting their office.
The Center for Disease Control does NOT recommend using face masks. Facemasks are not efficient at preventing the spread of COVID-19. Facemasks should ONLY be worn by people showing symptoms of the disease. Unless you or a close family member is showing symptoms of COVID-19, avoid wearing a facemask.
Related Articles
March 3, 2020: Public Health Responds to Coronavirus and Cruise Ship Concerns
OK …facts. Princess has just cancelled the next cruise for this ship because 60 people on board may have the virus and the USCG is flying test kits out to the ship so the can be checked. The governor is saying he may make them go elsewhere to dock if the virus is found. The ship has slowed to under 12 knots and is on a NNW course, not toward SF. No paranoia… just a very real possibility that this ship is not safe at the present.
Anyone contemplating a cruise should get a stern warning so they won’t bow to pressure and regret their decision afterward.
Thanks to Frank Hotchkiss for all these wonderful cruise ship visits to our wonderful city..
https://mailchi.mp/esicm/the-future-of-haemodynamic-monitoring-first-webinar-of-the-year-1009715
We are so unprepared for this. 10% of cases in Italy end up in ICU…
Results of autopsies are starting to come out. This thing can cause permanent lung damage and immune system damage. Why are they allowing any ships right now and potentially inviting the risk? At this point we need to do everything we can to minimize the chance of this spreading. Period.
roger, they have been life savers for many of the downtown businesses
Panic buying causes shortages and others cannot get what they need b/c of the stockpiling and hoarding. It’s a 2 week incubation. You can pretty much order anything online if you find yourself quarantined. Buy what you need for the next 2 weeks assuming you get it today, then replenish if need be but emptying shelves is ridiculous. Especially of water when taps will be running just fine. Even if you do run out of TP there are other alternatives in a dire emergency situation (which is VERY unlikely)
Death Rate for High Risk Groups is much higher than the Government is currently stating. These numbers need to be circulated to ensure that residents know their general risk. https://www.onclive.com/web-exclusives/oncologists-must-stay-current-on-coronavirus-developments
Los Angeles tourists need to be stopped from coming to Santa Barbara for the weekend. All weddings and events, like Solstice, 4th of July, Fiesta…, need to be canceled. Anything where more than a few people will be gathered really needs to be rethought now. The city council is holding a meeting on this issue next week. I urge everyone to be there or to send an email to the city council demanding that they prohibit cruise ships, large events and activities until further notice. We cannot risk residents’ health for short-term gain of sales tax. Send an email to: SBCityCouncil@SantaBarbaraCA.Gov
2:46 – What about Earth Day? What about little league games? What about going to the store? What about work? Should we just all stay in our homes? Seriously…what should we do?
You need to do what you need to do but I agree there is an outbreak in LA, they need to stay there and not come here like they often do!
As for going to the store – go at off hours when there’s less people and if you use self checkout spray the machine. Clean/wash your hands immediately after you leave and again when you get home.
Every article on this topic talks about the $Millions cruise ships bring into S. B. Write the mayor and City Council Members and tell them we don’t care about the measly $Millions, we want NO crew or passengers here until the pandemic is over. Perea is assistant to the mayor and council members. Send a copy to Salud.
HPerea@SantaBarbaraca.gov
And now they are going to kill us all but that is ok a republican saved the tourist industry maybe we can put Frank out there in a little digny and throw baby ruth candy bars at him…
2:07. Here is the sole autopsy report published in Lancet on the one Wuhan patient., You are wildly misrepresenting what they found. Pays to read the original source material instead of passing on sensationalized hysteria-mongering third hand reports. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.:…. LANCET: Pathological findings of COVID-19 associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome
Zhe Xu, MD †
Lei Shi, MD †
Yijin Wang, PhD †
Jiyuan Zhang, PhD
Lei Huang, MD
Chao Zhang, PhD
et al. Published:February 18, 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30076-X
Ugh–what a line, seems like you really struggle to hatch things that will allow you to take a bow when you should really just quietly chill by a fire and drink a class of port.
Just a quick update since this thread is about the Grand Princess….3 hours ago 2 CA Nat’l Guard, rather than the USCG, copters dropped off the test kits which are to be picked up later tonight and flown to Richmond for testing which should reportedly take 4 hours. It’s been announced on the ship that they are not docking in SF tonight and although they may leave their cabins to stay 6′ away from others . Ship at 11.1 kn, NNW and about 75 miles offshore.
All it takes is someone taking the 4hr drive down the 101 from Santa Clara to bring the virus to our community. Or a flight from Santa Clara to SBA. With cases popping up all over the Bay Area now, it wouldn’t surprise me if the first carriers are already walking among us. If you are elderly or have comprised health you need to heed all the precautions we’ve been getting bombarded with for weeks now. It’s just like the Thomas Fire: when it was near Ojai it was far away and we were complacent, but now it’s worked its way to Carp and now it seems serious.
SHASTA: Agree completely, I have no doubt that there is likely at least 1 person here with it, unknowingly. But in my book, that doesn’t mean we want hundreds here. The fewer ppl here with it, the lower the chance of a massive outbreak. Vice versa – if 100 ppl are here with it, the more ppl those 100 can infect. We should be doing everything we can to contain. Allowing cruise ships to dock is not essential – and should not be happening.
The cruise ships are now just big incubators, and I’d hate to be on one now. With the state of emergency declared I’m hoping to see restrictions start taking place. There’s no stopping this thing now. All one can do now is have fastidious hygienic behaviors. I have a daughter in SF right now for a college semester away which is a cause of worry.
They are almost impossible to completely decontaminate too.
Lung damage that leads to Heart Failure .
Cruise ships bring in about $4 million dollars to city coffers. At $100,000 per city employee, which forty city employees do want to send a pick slips. Name names, if you like.
D V’s don’t change the truth .
Now confined to their staterooms.
This says that Chinese scientists have done 12 autopsies. Some overlap between this video and the other one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw-zXURqWe8
Another similar saying: do you prepare the road for the child; or prepare the child for the road. No one has found a cure for the common cold either. SFGate (SF Chronicle website) has one of the best articles out so far: How do you tell the difference between Corona, influenza and the common cold. Highly recommended read.
If you get the symptoms , YES, stay home. If you are in an at risk group – elderly or with health issues, yes, stay home now as much as possible. These are common sense suggestions. P.S. Don’t listen to trump as today he said it’s OK to go to work if you have symptoms.
Give us a break. Cruise ships only started coming to S. B. five or six years ago. The city will survive without their income.
The Diamond Princess had the highest infection rate in the world. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR3NVBFrl_ZO0PKcOEQlepn-ga9ja5mcVQcc5A8FlhT6fbKAeeAy9hcV1ko#countries
The majority of working Americans do not have either one or all three of the following: health care insurance, child care, or paid sick leave. So how can folks leave their jobs to stay home if sick , or take care of their children when schools or close, or go to a doctor for help if seriously ill? Of the larger democracies our safety net is extremely thin, and about to be shredded further if more cuts are allowed by the proposed federal budget.
Great misleading & confusing article!! A quote from it: “California’s first coronavirus death came from a cruise ship that’s scheduled to dock in Santa Barbara later this month” then a few paragraphs later: “The Grand Princess cruise ship cancelled its travel plans and is now headed back to the San Francisco area.” WOW what great panic-media. Please, at a time like this, just report FACTS.
Just to be clear, the Grand Princess is NOT near Santa Barbara, despite what this article suggests.
Paul Casey, George Buell, Andrew Stuffer, Renee Brooke, Rob Dayton & Rebecca Bjork to start with.
Will masks be provided at the City Council meeting? If they are holding a public meeting during a health crisis then the public needs to be protected. It also is only a matter of time before we have cases here. Hope this isn’t another meeting where staff Pat’s themselves on the back and the council falls all over themselves to say how wonderful they are.
We aren’t panicking, we just don’t want a situation where infected tourists are coming to our city. Please keep this cruise ship and, for the time being, any other cruise ships away from our shores.
A previous message from county health officials said another diamond princess situation was highly unlikely. That aged well via the Grand Princess.
With a two week quarantine and incubation period, any concern for this ship has sailed… let’s be factual here and skip the media hype and paranoia.
great photo opportunity for Das & Salud will row out in a dingy and stop the cruise ship from entering the channel. Maybe Das can bring a smokeable to share with him from his friends in Carp
It cancelled its plans to go to Ensenada–the interary was SF/Hawaii/Ensenada/SF. The coast cruise that docks in SB is a different cruise on the same ship: SF/SB/LA/San Diego/Ensenada/SF.
“Don’t listen to trump” — Certainly don’t *believe* him. Even when he’s not flat-out lying, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. “he said it’s OK to go to work if you have symptoms” — No, he did not say that, although what he did say isn’t a whole lot better: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/03/05/utahs-coronavirus/
No “hysteria”, just common sense concern as the officials try to deceive us with “nothing to see here, we got this”.
the question you ought to be asking- what have they done that’s been good?
Now it’s in Ventura County – https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/2020/03/06/county-sees-first-confirmed-case-of-coronavirus/4979296002/
Stopping the cruise ships from coming is a must
Cruise Ships are essentially massive floating Petri Dishes.
Latest in is that 21 out of the 46 tested so far have the virus so all 3,522 will have to be tested. The ship will be moored at a non commercial port. If it follows the Diamond Princess scenario no way it will be coming this way. They’ll be lucky to have it ready for the AK cruises even with skipping our short little coastal cruise.
@ 9:38am: 1.) It’s HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) not “HIPPA” and that you are unable to spell it or identify the acronym says you know actually nothing about it. 2.) No, there was no violation there at all. You’re just uninformed, and it’s super annoying.
The city makes several hundred thousand dollars each time these ships dip into town. Plus, our local businesses do quite well indeed.
I for one do not trust that our City or County officials can manage this or any other disastrous situation. After their gross negligent handling of the mudslide evacuations, their disastrous handling of the drought and the fact that our Mayor has proven to be an abject moron and completely inept nincompoop. The City is not going to do anything right when it comes to preparing or managing a pandemic. Take responsibility for your own life and family and do everything you can to prevent infection. DO NOT listen to the city leaders, they are woefully inept and incapable of managing the benign operations of our city let alone something as dangerous as a pandemic.
The Bottom people are going to be the ones that die.
100% agree!
I read the exact same confusing wording in this and am frustrated by the misleading verbiage. Also, in a recent newscast, it was confirmed that NOT ALL of the people on the ship where the man died will be test. WHY THE FREAKING HECK NOT??? EVERYONE on board should be tested!!
People should be aware that as of yesterday there were 3 cases of people with suspected infections at cottage in isolation, and approximately 7 more isolated at their homes. Cottage currently has no ability to run tests and are dependent to wait 3 days to get test results back.
The city and county taxes add up to 2.75%. So let’s say split your 100,000 thousand to both. That means each cruise ship is generating 3 million in local sales that day (no TOT they’re on a boat) to get that much tax money. We get smaller ships here – but even so – let’s go with an average of 3,000 passengers. That means they are spending 1000 bucks each on their day long shore trip here. Your number seems grossly exaggerated.
Did Hotchkiss do this by fiat, or by the vote of the entire city council? How on earth did Hotchkiss hoodwink his fellow council member and our crack city staffers and their unions to get away with his masterful hoodwinking.
I am exhausted. I thought Russia-gate was interesting times. I thought the Mueller Report anticipation was interesting times. I thought impeachment was interesting times times. And now I am supposed to think a case of a bad new version of the flu is interesting times too?
This is kind of irresponsible of you to post without some sort of backup to support it. Unless you work at Cottage or know these people you claim are infected. Also, you’re telling me that SLO had the ability to test and receive the results within 3 hours of their one suspected patient yesterday, and a place like Cottage doesn’t even have the tests?
Please don’t let that ship or any cruise ship come in to port here or anywhere, they should be all canceled.
Yes I heard also about a nurse in cottage hospital contacting it. So how many people there came into contact with her?
I’m scared now.
I went to vons and saw they haven’t had any hand wipes now for a week, so bring your own now, have Clorox wipes with you.
A lot of people were let in the US BEFORE THEY STARTED THE QUARANTINE.
Any HIPPA violations here?
why only single out cruise ships? why not stop all air planes landing – who know where these people are coming from and what they carry on their checked luggage. Next let’s block off the freeway exits to block those wanting to come by car. No more Amtrak too!!
Dear City Council Members, we want you to fire 40 city employees immediately, so we no longer rely on cruise ship revenues.
No more “urban travelers”.
Mob hysteria is frightening to behold. Hope someone is doing a PhD dissertation on what has been unfolding, just on this website.
We want you to fire 40 city employees regardless….you have too many!!!!!
Good plan OOPS, then we get to actually spend that $4 million dollars on city infrastructure improvements, or maybe just keep fixing our rotten roads.
OOPS, double oops, city employee pension plan CalPERS just lost $15 billion dollars in portfolio value due to corona hysteria impact on market. This means the city will need that $4 million cruise ship revenue to back-fill their CalPERS pension funding obligations. Let’s hope the market recovers as much as people start recovering their common sense so this does not turn into a total lose-lose. Those animal spirits have keen senses.
Why do you want to take away 40 people’s jobs? What have those people done to you? Jeez, what a mean post.
NEWSFLASH – It’s coming and there’s nothing we can do. Just wash your hands and stay away from sick people. Really nothing to panic about.
Oceandrew, those wanting to take away cruise ship revenues due to unfounded hysteria are the mean people. No city tax revenues – no way to pay city employees. It works that way – cash in= cash out. Might want to start a GoFundMe and raise private donations for the city’s lost cruise ship revenue, so city workers will not have to be laid off. Works the same way – cash in = cash out. Basic math.
Proverbial curse, “may you live in interesting times”, here and now. Gov won’t allow them to dock until SOME passengers are tested. But if any are positive, ALL passengers must be quarantined. IMHO.
” Health officials in Placer County, where the man died, said he was “likely exposed” to the virus on board the Grand Princess.
The 62 passengers who may have come in contact with the man who died are now being confined to their staterooms on board…”
City Council are idiots. All they care about is businesses and landowners downtown and wining the next election by conning residents to vote for them. They all need to go. Incompetent know nothings.