Cruise ship with sick passengers to dock in San Francisco makes residents uneasy

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – The idea of a cruise ship with sick passengers docking in San Francisco is striking a nerve.

Even as the governor said, the Grand Princess will stay offshore until health screens are complete.

Anxiously waiting for the arrival of the Grand Princess cruise ship at Pier 27 are people who use this part of San Francisco waterfront with their families.

“That’s very uncomfortable, I feel like that shouldn’t be happening. Like they need to keep those people where they came from, like in quarantine and stuff,” Aileen Ontiveros said.

Onboard are 11 passengers and 10 crew members who have flu-like symptoms, according to the governor’s office.

“Look, we just came off the airport and there’s people everywhere using these masks, we’ve even got masks of our own. So you know, people are really scared and they’re really taking this seriously,” the tourist said.

“It is scary, it really is but um, we won’t come down here tomorrow will we, not we won’t,” the tourist said.

Waterfront restaurants did not want to comment on the pending cruise ship arrival.

For people who live and work in this part of the city, possible coronavirus cases close to shore make them uneasy.

“My office is there, I walk the dog here twice a day, you know, I’ll be thoughtful about it, I certainly won’t touch any rails,” David Barrett said.

Again, the Grand Princess will be held offshore until passengers can be tested and results come back.

As this situation develops, that will determine exactly when the ship arrives here if at all.