Coronavirus Pandemic

4 cruise ship passengers test negative for coronavirus

Four passengers who were taken to a hospital after their cruise ship arrived in Bayonne, New Jersey for evaluation tested negative for the novel coronavirus.

Associated Press
WHYY staff

February 9, 2020

The cruise ship Anthem of the Seas is docked at the Cape Liberty Cruise Port on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Bayonne, N.J. Four passengers were screened for coronavirus and tested negative. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen)

Four passengers who were taken to a hospital after their cruise ship arrived in Bayonne for evaluation tested negative for the novel coronavirus that has sickened more than 20,000 and killed nearly 500, mostly in China.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement that personnel with the Centers for Disease Control allowed the four passengers to be discharged from the hospital Saturday.

Three of the four people stayed in a cabin together aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship and were diagnosed with the flu.

The other person stayed in a separate cabin and did not have any symptoms.

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There have been 12 cases of coronavirus in the U.S., but none in New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Delaware.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in South Jersey is on a list of potential coronavirus quarantine locations.

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