A total of 21 crew and passengers aboard a cruise ship off the coast of California have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the U.S. government said Friday.

The Grand Princess, owned by the same company that operates the virus-hit Diamond Princess that was quarantined near Tokyo in February, has 2,422 passengers and 1,111 crew members on board. They include four Japanese citizens, including one who is a crew member, according to the company, Princess Cruises.

(The 'Grand Princess' pictured in Monaco on June 05, 1998.)[Gamma-Rapho/Getty/Kyodo]

The ship was planning to return to San Francisco on Saturday but the schedule was disrupted when it was found to have earlier been carrying a passenger who later became the first person to die from the virus in California. He was an elderly adult with underlying health conditions, according to local authorities.

The Grand Princess has been moored off the coast of California since Wednesday night and test kits have been delivered to the ship by the Coast Guard.

Of the 46 persons swabbed, 19 crew members and two passengers tested positive, 24 tested negative and one test was inconclusive, Vice President Mike Pence said during a press briefing on the country's handling of the virus' spread.

Pence said the ship will be taken to a noncommercial port, all passengers will be tested for the virus and those who need to be quarantined will be isolated.

In the case of the Diamond Princess, infections spread while passengers and crew remained in quarantine aboard, sparking international criticism over Japan's handling of the situation.

The passenger who died in California from the virus had sailed on the ship's previous voyage between Feb. 11 and Feb. 21, which was a roundtrip cruise from San Francisco to Mexico. The ship has since been on another tour, which included a stop in Hawaii.


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