WASHINGTON, March 7. /TASS/: The US Department of State has confirmed in response to the Russian Embassy’s request that there are four Russian citizens on board the Grand Princess cruise ship where 21 novel coronavirus cases had been confirmed, the embassy’s press service reported.
"In response to our request, the US Department of State has officially confirmed that there are four our fellow countrymen on board the Grand Princess cruise ship (currently quarantined off the California coast)," the embassy said. "We have been in touch with representatives of competent authorities and are keeping a close eye on the situation," the press service said.
The embassy expressed the hope that the US would help Russian diplomats get in touch with their fellow countrymen.
US Vice President Michael Pence earlier said that twenty-one people aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship had tested positive for coronavirus. According to the operator company, there are 3,533 people on board the ship, including 2,422 passengers and 1,111 crewmembers.
Meanwhile, US media reports said that the crew of the ship en route from Hilo (Hawaii) to Ensenada (Mexico) had been ordered to return to the port of San Francisco (California). These instructions were given after a passenger who had been aboard the ship during a cruise to Mexico from February 11 to February 21 died of coronavirus.
A pneumonia outbreak caused by the COVID-19 virus (previously known as 2019-nCoV) was reported in China’s Wuhan, a large trade and industrial center, in late December 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, describing it as an epidemic with multiple locations. Besides China, major coronavirus outbreaks have been reported in South Korea, Iran and Italy. More than 80 countries, including Russia, have reported confirmed coronavirus cases.
Over 3,000 people have died in China, which accounts for the majority of novel coronavirus cases, more than 55,400 patients have recovered, while the total number of infected people has exceeded 80,600.
