Cruise ship passengers at Travis AFB talk about nightmare conditions

Hundreds of passengers from the Grand Princess cruise ship are under a 14-day quarantine at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif. Hundreds of passengers from the Grand Princess cruise ship are under a 14-day quarantine at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif. Photo: Courtesy Photo: Courtesy Image 1 of / 49 Caption Close Cruise ship passengers at Travis AFB talk about nightmare conditions 1 / 49 Back to Gallery

Ever since the Grand Princess pulled into the Port of Oakland on Monday carrying more than 3,500 people — including 21 infected with COVID-19 — hundreds of passengers have been placed in 14-day quarantine at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif.

While some passengers were sent to bases in other parts of the state and the country, more than 600 California residents are staying in apartments in a hotel on the base about 50 miles northeast of San Francisco, according to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

Some people staying at Travis AFB said the process to transfer them from the ship to the base was disorganized, carelessly implemented and painfully prolonged. After being holed up in their cabins under strict quarantine for six days while the ship idled off the coast of California, they were surprised to be in situations that didn't allow for social distancing and put them in close quarters with other passengers. They're also shocked that none of them have been tested for COVID-19.

The Grand Princess was held off the coast for six days because of evidence that it was the breeding ground for more than 20 infections tied to a past voyage, a San Francisco-Mexico trip from Feb. 11-21. A passenger on that trip, a Placer County resident, died on March 4 due to complications with COVID-19.

After not stepping outside a cruise cabin for nearly a week, Dr. Alan Brast of Danville said he and his wife finally filed off the ship on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Officials were tasked with taking everyone's temperature, but Brast said that while they took his wife's, he was puzzled that he was missed.

Brast was loaded onto a bus that sat parked for two hours and 15 minutes. Every seat was full, and the bus had one small bathroom. Initially, there wasn't any food or drink, and when sandwiches were finally served, the bus driver said, "If you want, you can take your mask off now to eat and take the risk.”

When the bus finally pulled up at Travis AFB, Brast and others weren't allowed to unload for an hour, finally getting off at 10 p.m. when they were sent to find their bags in a pile of 400 pieces of luggage. Brast, using his iPhone flashlight, found his bags after an hour and 15 minutes.

"Some of these people with their walkers and their canes were schlepping their luggage up three or four flights of stairs," he said.

MORE: 24 Grand Princess passengers going to Asilomar in Pacific Grove for quarantine

Kay Gleason of Rocklin described a similarly disordered disembarkment after walking down the gangway with her husband and two daughters on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

"My husband argues it was the worst part of the ordeal," Gleason said. "My opinion is being in a tiny cabin for six days with children and feeling really helpless was the worst."

The Gleasons all had their temperatures taken before boarding a bus.

"We sat on the bus for an hour," she said. "There were discrepancies going on with two passengers. They weren’t California residents. They messed up their paperwork. They had to go back on the ship. That was sad to watch."

After this incident, the bus sat parked for another half-hour. "No one is making an announcement or saying, 'Here’s why we're waiting,'" she said. "We were just sitting there, scrunched together, which was very contradictory to everything they were making us do on the ship."

The floors of the bathroom were "wet and sticky," and there wasn't a light or toilet paper.

"The girls were afraid of going to the bathroom," she said. "I had to ask the bus driver to get toilet paper. The bare necessities ... we were just struggling to get that. But they did supply us with big water bottles and a sandwich."

Upon arriving at the base, Gleason said they were greeted by friendly military staff who ran through the process and answered questions.

"We were finally on the other side of the fence," she said. "It was so much relief, but still even with the kindness of hearts and everyone doing everything in their power to help us, the resources weren't enough. We ended up sitting on that bus until midnight. We were packed on a bus together and taking our masks off because we had to drink our water. Some of the older people were turning red, and crying out to the bus driver and asking him to open windows."

Gleason also mentioned the heap of luggage, as did others, and one person shared a video with SFGATE showing outdoor sprinklers spraying the luggage with water.

"Even now, there are about 100 pieces of luggage sitting inexplicably outside of the entrance to the facility, with no protection from the forecast coming rain, etc." Brast said.

ALSO: Here's where things stand with the Grand Princess passengers

Once checked in, passengers had mixed reviews of the accommodations. Gleason was thrilled to have a spacious apartment, much bigger than the room on the ship.

"We have windows that open," she said. "It is clean inside for the most part. There’s a washer-dryer in the room, and we even had laundry detergent on our washer. We have three TVs. They’re bringing little bottles of water through the day. I think the only hard part is the lack of anything we need for two weeks like toothpaste and Tylenol."

Others staying at the base commented on cold rooms, thin blankets, dirty linens, a scarcity of towels and coffee, a toilet that doesn't flush and lack of access to medication for the elderly and milk for children.

Brast said meals were initially distributed off a cart in the lobby. "The lack of sanitation and people milling around on top of people without any organization was horrendous," he said.

Meals are now being served in rooms. "This should help a great deal with the shortages precipitated by unnecessary hoarding," he said.

Other improvements are being made as the base figures out how guests can receive deliveries, but still none of the people interviewed for this story have been tested for the coronavirus.

"I saw one of these CDC guys the first day, and asked, 'When are we going to be tested for COVID-19?' He said, 'Are you feeling OK?'" Brast recalled. "He said, 'Well, you’re not going to get tested as long as you’re feeling OK.'

"It’s a tragedy. It’s unconscionable that they could operate like this. Not a single person gets tested unless you are sick."

SFGATE reached out to the California Department of Public Health, the California Health and Human Services Agency and Travis Air Force Base for comment on this story, but hadn't heard back as of late Friday night.

Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email: agraff@sfgate.com.

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