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FEAR -- FEEL HAPPIER ABOUT THAT. THE GRAND PRINCESS CRUISE SHIP WILL REMAIN IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER DAY BEFORE HEADING TO THE PORT OF OAKLAND TOMORROW TO BEGIN OFF LOADING PASSENGERS. NEARLY TWO DOZEN PEOPLE ON BOARD TESTED POSITIVE FOR THE CORONAVIRU THIS AFTERNOON, GOVERNOR NEWSOM GAVE DETAILS ON HOW THE PASSENGERS WILL BE REMOVED AND WHY THE PORT OF OAKLAND WAS CHOSEN OVER IT’S ORIGINAL DESTINATION OF SAN FRANCISCO >> SOME HAVE SUGGESTED THAT SAN FRANCISCO AND THE PORT SHOULD ASSUME THIS REPATRIATION EFFORT. THAT WAS ASSESSED. THE LOGISTICS OF THAT SITE ALONG THE EMBARCADERO, THE PROXIMITY TO RESIDENCES, THE DISRUPTION THAT WOULD HAVE ENSUED, WAS SUCH THAT WE DETERMINED THAT WAS NOT THE APPROPRIATE SITE. OTHER SITES ACROSS THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA WERE CONSIDERED. BY MULTITUDES OF ASSESSMENTS, WE FELT THERE WAS MORE APPROPRIATE TO HAVE IT HERE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FOR REASONS I WILL LAY OUT IN JUST A BRIEF MOMENT. WALTER ONE OF THOSE ADVANTAGES IS THE PORT OF OAKLAND’S PROXIMITY TO TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, WHERE SOME OF THE CALIFORNIA PASSENGERS WILL BE QUARANTINED FOR 14 DAYS AFTER GETTING OFF THE SHIP. THE SHIP WILL DOCK SOMETIME TOMORROW, DEPENDING ON THE TIDES AND CURRENTS. THE PASSENGERS MOST IN NEED OF MEDICAL SUPPORT OR WHO ARE SHOWING SYMPTOMS WILL GET OFF THE SHIP FIRST AND WILL BE TAKEN TO AREA HOSPITALS. ABOUT A THOUSAND PASSENGERS WHO LIVE IN CALIFORNIA WILL BE REMOVED NEXT AND TAKEN TO TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE TO BEGIN THEIR QUARANTINE. NON-CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

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Gov. Gavin Newsom gave an update on the passengers of the Grand Princess cruise ship in a press conference on Sunday afternoon. Twenty-one people on the ship have tested positive for COVID-19, he said.The Grand Princess cruise ship is 10 to 12 miles offshore as of Sunday. It is still unknown exactly what time the ship can come into the port, he said. Several parts of California were considered for docking the cruise ship passengers, including Alameda and some Southern California ports. Docking the ship in Northern California gives officials several advantages, Newsom said in the press conference. The No. 1 advantage, he said, was the ability to secure the site. “The site is currently being secured, it’s being fenced, and it’s being secured by federal personnel.”He also said the site’s proximity to the Oakland Airport was a significant advantage. It provides officials “the ability to allow foreign passengers on this crew to be repatriated to their home countries,” he said. He also said passengers will have no contact with the general population at the terminals at the Oakland Airport. They are being processed in partnership with the State Department.The site’s proximity to Travis Air Force Base influenced their decision as well, Newsom said. “Oakland is uniquely positioned to quickly move those passengers to be quarantined disproportionately at Travis, but a number of them possibly down at Miramar.”The ship is expected to dock sometime Monday. Officials will determine the best cross-current conditions as well as tidal conditions so a ship that size can go into port. Passengers who are symptomatic and those who need immediate medical support will be the first pulled off the ship, Newsom said. “Those that are in need of hospitalization, that is a number that needs to be determined, will be sent to appropriate medical facilities around the region, and those protocols are well underway for those we are currently providing care for,” Newsom said.Newsom said officials are monitoring about 1,540 individual Californians who were on the original cruise that departed from San Francisco to Mexico between Feb. 11 to Feb. 21.