California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency as the number of cases of the novel coronavirus rose to 53 and the state recorded its first death — an elderly patient who tested positive for COVID-19 after disembarking from a cruise ship.
Details: Princess Cruises confirmed in a statement there had been a "small cluster" of COVID-19 cases in Northern California connected to its Grand Princess cruise ship. Newsom told a news conference the ship wouldn't dock in San Francisco as expected Thursday. Health officials are flying to the vessel to conduct tests on 21 sick passengers and crew members and screen others still aboard.
- The patient who died "tested presumptively positive on Tuesday at a California lab and was likely exposed during international travel from Feb. 11-21 on a Princess cruise ship that departed from San Francisco to Mexico," Placer County Public Health said in a statement. "The patient was in isolation at Kaiser Permanente Roseville."
- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is supporting California Health Department officials to evaluate those aboard the ship, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield told reporters Wednesday.
The big picture: Princess Cruises also operates the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was quarantined off the coast of Yokohama, Japan, last month after a coronavirus outbreak that infected more than 700 people.
- The outbreak saw the U.S. and other countries launch operations to repatriate citizens, who were then placed into quarantine. Some 100 left in Japan were placed under temporary travel restrictions.
- The State Department told Axios in a statement on Tuesday, "U.S. Mission Japan will continue to provide all possible consular services to U.S. citizens remaining in Japan."
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
