Grand Princess Cruise Ship Awaits Coronavirus Results as California Braces

The panic over the fate of the ship, the Grand Princess, which was returning from Hawaii, began this week after a 71-year-old man died after traveling on a previous leg of the cruise, a round trip from San Francisco to Mexico last month. Another passenger from that leg of the trip also tested positive for the virus and is being treated in California.

Then, more cases with links to the ship emerged on Friday: In Placer County, northeast of San Francisco, officials announced three new cases — all passengers who had previously traveled on the Grand Princess on a trip to Mexico. Nearby in Contra Costa County, officials also announced three new coronavirus cases, including two who had been aboard the Grand Princess.

Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, said that many cruise ship travelers were in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, a group that may be more vulnerable to the virus.

Shortly after Mr. Pence’s briefing, the ship captain came over the loudspeaker and apologized to passengers that they were getting updates from television news, rather than him. The captain said that he had not received any advance notice about the news briefing and that the ship would notify individuals of their test results “as soon as possible.”

“We are working to make you as comfortable as possible,” he said.

Patricia DiMartino, whose relatives are passengers on the ship, said her 82-year-old brother-in-law had a fever and a cough, but his test results came back negative. “Even if he doesn’t have coronavirus, he’s got something, and he isn’t seeing a doctor,” she said, adding, “This is a fiasco.” Her brother-in-law and sister said they were told to order a week’s worth of prescription medication.

The Grand Princess is owned by Princess Cruises, the same company that runs the Diamond Princess, the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship that was quarantined off the coast of Japan last month. The virus circulated among the more than 3,700 crew members and passengers who were waiting out a two-week isolation period in the port city of Yokohama, with more than 700 cases identified from that ship.