There are 11 Chinese nationals who work as crew members on the Grand Princess cruise ship that was barred from docking at San Francisco port due to coronavirus infections on the ship, the Chinese diplomatic mission said on Friday.
The Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco has kept in contact with the Chinese employees, who "remain healthy and in stable condition," sources with the consulate said.
While the consulate has reminded the Chinese employees on the ship to pay closer attention to their own protection, the sources said they are still working to verify whether there are any passengers of Chinese nationality traveling on the cruise ship.
The Chinese consulate will, if necessary, offer those Chinese nationals timely consular protection and assistance in light of the evolving situation concerning the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), said the sources.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said earlier Friday that 21 people on the Grand Princess cruise ship have been tested positive for coronavirus.
The infected included 19 employees and two passengers after 46 passengers were tested for COVID-19 on the cruise ship, which has been held off San Francisco's shore for two days.
Pence said 24 people showed negative results and one was inconclusive after medical staff conducted tests on them with the test kits airlifted by the California Air National Guard to the ship Thursday.
The ship, which has 3,500 people on board, was linked to the first COVID-19 death in California after one of its passengers who had traveled on the ship during a previous voyage to Mexico last month died from coronavirus following his return home.
Media reports said the crew members are likely to be quarantined aboard the ship and the passengers at military bases.
