Cruise ship passengers screened for coronavirus in New Jersey; 4 sent to hospital
More than a dozen passengers were screened for coronavirus when their Royal Caribbean cruise ship arrived Friday morning in Bayonne, New Jersey. None of the passengers had displayed symptoms of the potentially deadly virus, and the screening was carried out strictly out of an abundance of caution, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told CBS New York.
Gov. Phil Murphy says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention evaluated 27 people who recently traveled from mainland China. Of those, 23 were cleared and four were taken to the hospital for additional testing.
Royal Caribbean told CBS News in a statement early Friday it was "participating in elevated levels of guest screening to check the spread of coronavirus" and that "rigorous medical protocols" were in place on its ships.
The virus, which started in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has caused more than 600 deaths and infected more than 31,000 worldwide.
As of Friday morning there were 12 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S.
On a Princess cruise ship in Japan, 10 more passengers have tested positive for the coronavirus, raising the number of people aboard the vessel who have been diagnosed with the illness to 20. A total of 3,700 passengers and workers, including three Americans, were quarantined on the ship, which is harbored in the port city of Yokohama.
