People still in quarantine due to fears of the new COVID-19 coronavirus stand on the deck of the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama on February 18, 2020. Photo: AFP

 
US Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday at a press briefing that 21 people on the Grand Princess cruise ship were tested positive for COVID-19, including 19 crew members and two passengers.

Pence said that a total of 46 people aboard had been swabbed for a coronavirus test with 24 of them showing "negative" and one "inconclusive."

The cruise ship was linked to the first coronavirus death in California amid possible virus spread aboard. It was banned from docking at San Francisco, after one of its former passengers died from COVID-19 Wednesday.

There are more than 3,000 people aboard the ship, according to local media reports.