The Grand Princess cruise ship sits off the coast of San Francisco, Sunday. The Grand Princess cruise ship set to dock at the Port of Oakland in California on Monday. Some 19 crew members and two passengers have tested positive for the coronavirus, and all the passengers will now have to undergo quarantine. Twenty Chinese nationals including 11 crew members and nine passengers are on the ship. Photo: China News Service

The US' "slow and irresponsible" handling of the cruise Grand Princess increased the risk of cross-infection and put crew members, who had to be quarantined on the ship in the sea, in great danger, analysts said, noting that the US attitude toward the coronavirus exposed an economy-first mindset. 

US passengers started disembarking on Monday, which would last several days, and would be isolated in military bases for 14 days afterwards. Crew members were required to quarantine on board after the passengers left, US media reported. 

Eleven crew members and nine passengers are Chinese. 

Chinese analysts noted the US move of letting passengers disembark showed the country had finally learned a lesson from the Diamond Princess, willingly or not. 

Docking in Japan, the Diamond Princess kept all passengers and crew members under quarantine on the ship, resulting in 696 out of about 3,700 people on board infected with the coronavirus. 

A role model was Costa Serena, which was about to dock in North China's Tianjin when a few passengers showed fever. A disease control team was sent to collect samples of passengers and testing was finished in 24 hours, after which all passengers were allowed to leave with no delay. 

"With enclosed cabins and centralized ventilation, a cruise ship is an ideal environment for the virus to spread," Zhou Zijun, a professor of public health at Peking University, told the Global Times on Monday.

Zhou warned that authorities should accelerate the disembarking process as slow action will definitely increase the chance of cross-infection.

Alarm was raised on the cruise ship after a previous passenger died of COVID-19. The 71-year-old likely contracted the virus during the trip. 

Among 46 tested, 19 crew members and two passengers showed positive results as of Friday.   

Before the final approval of docking in Oakland, California, a port that has limited capability to deal with large cruise ships, the ship was denied pulling on shore by the California government. US President Donald Trump had said earlier that he had rather have the passengers stay on because he liked "the numbers being where they are" and did not need to "have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn't our [US] fault." His remarks sparked a storm of criticism. 

Anxiety seems to building up among people quarantined onboard.

US media reported Sunday a woman quarantined aboard has stage 4 cancer and was worried she would not make it home to start chemotherapy treatment on Monday. 

A  Twitter user on Monday expressed concern for his brother and his wife, who are trapped on the ship with little information.

Diao Daming, a US studies expert at Renmin University of China, said that the US should dispatch disease control officials and epidemiologists to direct quarantine and epidemic control work for the remaining passengers and crew members' sake.

Zhou also stressed that military bases must get prepared with enough rooms, medical resources and take control measures before receiving the passengers for isolation; otherwise, there would be an outbreak in  the military base rather than on the cruise. 

Without the close monitoring of passengers' routes and health conditions, community outbreaks may follow, considering current evidence that shows large numbers of non-symptom patients, Zhou said. 

Media reported that more than 1,100 crew members were required to quarantine on the ship that has 935 outside cabins after all passengers left. It is "not a responsible but economical option" if the company or the crew members themselves need to pay for the quarantine expenses, Zhou said. Quarantine plans for the crew members have not been announced. 

The US stock market has slumped amid the spreading epidemic and mounting public concerns over the outbreak which shows "Americans are losing confidence in the US government's ability to curb the epidemic," Diao said.

Diao noted the way China and the US have been handling the epidemic exposed the  different priorities of their governments. China's strict measures and nationwide mobilization are centered around people's health and safety while the US government appears to care more about the economy than its people, Diao said.

The difference is not about the political system, but more of policymakers' mindset, he said.

The US has reported more than 500 confirmed cases as of Sunday and the New York Times quoted an anonymous expert saying that regional lockdowns could be necessary. 

  


Newspaper headline: US govt irresponsible in handling cruise ship