California officials and CDC try to track down cruise ship passengers

2,500 who disembarked ship could be at risk for coronavirus

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - A cruise ship linked to coronavirus is being held off the coast of California.

The ship was returning to San Francisco from Hawaii when 11 passengers and 10 crew members reported flu-like symptoms. The Grand Princess was supposed to pull into port Wednesday night. However, health officials asked that it delay its return while U.S. Coast Guard and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) coordinated testing.

The plan is for the ship to remain in international waters off the coast while a helicopter shuttles testing supplies and patient samples from the ship to laboratories on shore.

Last month the ship cruised from Mexico to San Francisco. Three people on that cruise tested positive for the virus.

State health officials and the CDC are now trying to track down some 2,500 people who were aboard that cruise. They could be at risk for both contracting and spreading the virus.