Grand Princess cruise ship circles off the coast of California
Reueters

The ship had embarked for a new cruise to Hawaii after the Grand Princess Mexico Cruise stopped in San Francisco. The ship was returning from the cruise in Hawaii when the Mexican traveler died in California, prompting the cruise line to suspend a planned stop in Ensenada, Mexico.

Three reports of coronavirus traced by California health officials to the Grand Princess Mexico ship between Feb. 11-21. The first death of California's first coronavirus was one of them whilst the other two remained hospitalized. Sonoma and Placer health officials made it evident that patients were travelers on a cruise from Grand Princess Mexico.

Dr. José Luis Alomía Zegarra, Mexico's epidemiology head, said that the passenger who died of the COVID-19 in California, Wednesday night, was on an after-flight trip that hadn't stopped in Mexico, as he again was asked about the Great Princess cruise.

The refusal, however, rebutted health officials in California and one Mexican State that visited the ship, leaving unanswered the issue of whether those people in the Mexican ports could have been exposed to this infection.

He incorrectly said that the passenger was on the Grand Princess' trip to Hawaii, which would have been unlikely as the travelers on that cruise stayed on the ship off the San Francisco coast Friday.

In Canada, two other passengers were said to be hospitalized from that cruise. In Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, the ship made port calls. In Mexico, Feb 18, a day before the dead passenger started showing the infection, the last destination before the cruise traveled back to San Francisco was on Feb. 18 in Cabo San Lucas.

Passengers in the cruise ships usually eat, do shopping and also go to local attractions in harbours.

However, on Thursday afternoon, Alomía said there was no update on the COVID-19 case. Once the cruise had ended, the cases were confirmed, but the health workers of California connected them to the cruise.

Dr. Rafael Félix Espinoza, Director of Prevention and Health Promotion at Sinaloa, had mentioned that when they landed at the port, all 2,454 passengers and 1,116 members of the crew were exposed to health procedures yet none of them showed symptoms that could pose a danger for the public.

He no longer elaborate on the process of the procedures, however they typically involve demanding records of the ships and any medical information before people arrive on the shore in many other nations.

In addition, a spokesperson for Mexico's Ministry of Health had not responded to an invitation for Alomía's availability for an immediate comment.

In comparison to Alomía, Sinaloa government officials reported that the passenger who died later in California was on a Grand Princess cruise that stopped in Mazatlan on February 17.

The state health ministry in Sinaloa had said on Thursday that they had gotten the identification of the traveler who had died so they could investigate where the passenger was heading in Mazatlan.

Jalisco, Sinaloa and Colima officers did not respond to comment requests directly.