The US Coast Guard wants ships headed to American ports to report if anyone on board could possibly have the coronavirus.
The agency this week reiterated rules requiring any ship destined for a US port and with someone presenting Covid-19 coronavirus symptoms be reported to the local captain of the port.
Further, vessels must report to the Center for Disease Control any sick or deceased crew or passenger on board in the last 15 days prior to arrival at a US port.
Any passenger vessel with passengers that have been to Iran or China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau, in the last two weeks will be denied entry to the US. Commercial vessels will be permitted so long as there are no sick crew members, but crew will not be allowed to leave the ship.
The Coast Guard is also requiring masters to report to its boarding teams any ill crewmembers prior to embarking.
Reportedly, there are more than 700 confirmed coronavirus cases in the US, and 26 deaths, with New York and Washington states and California hit the hardest. Statistics from the World Health Organization show the number of cases globally eclipsing 109,500, with nearly 4,000 new cases reported Monday alone.
Monday, the 107,500-gt Grand Princess (built 1998) docked in Oakland after being held offshore San Francisco after 19 crew members and two guests were found to be infected with the respiratory illness.
The ship's voyage to Hawaii and Mexico was cut short after two passengers on a previous cruise tested positive for coronavirus, with one dying.
The 1,000 passengers aboard were put into mandatory quarantine at a military base in San Diego, while crew stayed aboard the ship.
Disembarking, Grand Princess owner and Carnival Corp brand Princess Cruises said, would be a "multiple day process".
Another Princess Cruises ship, the 115,900-gt Diamond Princess (built 2004) was held in Japan in late February after 700 passengers and crew were infected. Of those, 43 were Americans, who were later flown back to the US and treated at various hospitals.
