A 77-year-old grandmother aboard the coronavirus-hit cruise ship Grand Princess says passengers are fighting over “rotten food.”
The ship has been circling off the shore of San Francisco for days because 21 people aboard have the coronavirus. Officials on Monday said the ship is set to dock in Oakland soon.
Passenger Margaret Bartlett is one of 140 Britons on the Grand Princess, told the BCC that her fellow passengers are going “stir crazy” on board. She also said it was “terrible” on board and they have “rotten food” to eat.
“The food is rotten and terrible and we have to fight for it,” Bartlett told the network. “It is not good enough.”
“We are going stir crazy stuck in the cabin,” she added. “It is a bit depressing when we saw land and it was sunny and we couldn’t get out.”
A passenger who was staying 10 cabins away from Mrs Bartlett has died.
“We are hoping something will get done. It is terrible,” she said.
Her daughter Lyndsey Vickers told the BBC she was “very worried” about her mother.
She said: “There is no reassurance that the ship is about to dock as I don’t think she is going to get off.
“My greatest fear is that they will be kept on that ship for two weeks.”
Vice President Mike Pence last week confirmed that 21 people aboard the cruise ship. Pence said at a Friday press briefing at the White House that the coronavirus task force had confirmed the infections, which hit 19 crew members and two passengers.
The vice president said the cruise ship, which took passengers from California to Hawaii on a 15-day cruise, would dock at a “non-commercial port” soon and the more than 2,000 passengers could disembark. But first, all will be tested for the virus.
“We have developed a plan which will be implemented this weekend to bring the ship into a non-commercial port,” Pence said. “All passengers and crew will be tested for the coronavirus. Those that need to be quarantined will be quarantined. Those that require additional medical attention will receive it.”
“We are taking all measures necessary to see to the health of the Americans and those involved on the Grand Princess. And just as importantly to protect the health of the American public and prevent the spread of the disease,” he added.
The vice president said it’s likely the 1,100-member crew on the cruise ship were exposed to coronavirus on “two different outings,” adding that they will remain in quarantine aboard the ship. As for the passengers, some will be quarantined on nearby U.S. military bases, including two bases that already hold those in quarantine, according to Health and Human Services official Robert Kadlec.
Pence, who was put in charge of the administration’s response to the virus by President Donald Trump, also said he is working with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to figure out where to dock the ship.
“We are taking all measures necessary to see to the health of … those involved on the Grand Princess and, just as importantly, to protect the health of the American public and prevent the spread of the disease through communities in this country,” Pence said.
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