Thousands on virus-hit cruise ship wait their turn to leave

Thousands of increasingly bored and restless passengers aboard a cruise ship struck by the coronavirus waited for their turn Tuesday to get off the vessel and go into two weeks of quarantine at military bases around the US.

After days of being forced to idle off the Northern California coast, the Grand Princess docked Monday at Oakland with about 3,500 passengers and crew , including at least 21 who tested positive for the new virus.

"We're trying to stay calm and were trying to stay positive, but it's getting harder and harder. They can't make up their minds how to keep us safe," said passenger Beryl Ward, 77, of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

About two dozen people who needed acute medical care were taken off the ship first, though it was not clear how many of them were infected, said Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the California Office of Emergency Services.

Also, more than 200 Canadians on board were flown to a military base in their country Monday, Canadian officials said.

About 2,000 passengers, including hundreds of Californians, were still aboard Monday night. The departure of passengers was expected to resume Tuesday.

The Grand Princess ship had been held off the coast since Wednesday because of evidence that it was the breeding ground for more than 20 infections tied to a previous voyage.

Passengers were isolated in their cabins for days. When they were finally allowed a few minutes on deck, Ward said, they were warned to wear masks and try to stay 6 feet (2 meters) away from each other.

Ward's cabin mate, Carolyn Wright, 63, also of Santa Fe, said she looked out her cabin window as passengers lined up to depart and also saw people in yellow protective clothing, gloves and hazardous materials suits.

They were queuing up the passengers like cattle, Wright said.

Everybody was bunched up. They were physically touching each other and they were backed up along the gangplank.

She added: I'm just totally freaked out by that. It's outrageous. If that's safe, then why were we stuck in our rooms? It's been stressed for the past five days that we're not to have any contact with any other passengers?"