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Coronavirus: 21 cases found on ship off San Francisco, with 100,000-plus infected cases worldwide

Covid-19 outbreak has killed more than 3,400 people, with 100,000-plus cases worldwide



FILE PHOTO: Passengers on board the Grand Princess cruise ship, which had previously carried two passengers who contracted the coronavirus, watch while a U.S. military helicopter hovers above the deck, as they approach their original destination of San Francisco, California, U.S. March 5, 2020.
Image Credit: Steve Berry/Handout via REUTERS

LONDON/LOS ANGELES: Twenty-one (21) people aboard a cruise ship that was barred from docking in San Francisco have tested positive for coronavirus, US officials said on Friday, adding to the more than 100,000 cases of the fast-spreading illness across the world.

Vice President Mike Pence, recently appointed as the U.S. government’s point man on the outbreak, said the cruise ship Grand Princess will be brought to an unspecified non-commercial port where all 2,400 some passengers and 1,100 crew members will now be tested.

2 US health screeners at LAX test positive of Covid-19
Two federal health screeners at Los Angeles International Airport have tested positive for coronavirus, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.

“Those that need to be quarantined, will be quarantined. Those that require additional medical attention will receive it,” Pence told reporters at the White House.

The outbreak has killed more than 3,400 people and spread across more than 90 nations, with seven countries reporting their first cases on Friday. The economic damage has also intensified, with business districts starting to empty and stock markets continuing to tumble.

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US Vice President Pence says among those tested on Grand Princess cruise ship off coast of California, 21 people tested positive for coronavirus with one test inconclusive. He adds that the ship will be brought to a non-commercial port this weekend, and all passengers and crew will be tested
Image Credit: California National Guard/Handout via REUTERS

President Donald Trump on Friday signed a bill to provide $8.3 billion to bolster the capacity to test for coronavirus and fund other measures in the United States.

15 deaths in the US

Cases have now been reported in more than half of the 50 US states. Fifteen people have died in the country.

In many affected countries, people were being asked to stay home from work, schools were closed, large gatherings and sports and music events were canceled, stores were cleared of staples like toiletries and water, and face masks became a common sight.

FILE PHOTO: Airmen from the Moffett Federal Airfield based, 129th Rescue Wing deliver coronavirus test-kits to the Grand Princess cruise ship off the coast of California, U.S. in this still image from a handout video obtained by Reuters on March 5, 2020.
Image Credit: California National Guard/Handout via REUTERS
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On Friday, the United States government said they are considering ways to discourage US travelers from taking cruises as part of a broader Trump administration effort to limit the spread of coronavirus, according to four officials familiar with the situation.

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