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US cruise ship (w/2 Iowans onboard) in limbo as anti-virus controls spread

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March 7th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. officials are deciding where to dock a cruise ship in California with 21 virus cases aboard and four American universities canceled in-person classes as Western countries follow China’s lead by tightening travel and other controls to contain the outbreak. The cruise ship Grand Princess, with 3,500 people aboard, was circling off San Francisco. Among the passengers are a couple from eastern Iowa’s Dubuque County. Shelley and George Goeppner, of Asbury were headed home when the outbreak was reported.

Officials want the cruise ship to dock in a non-commercial port for everyone aboard to be tested. Authorities in Florida reported the first two U.S. deaths away from the West Coast. The Netherlands reported its first virus death, while Serbia, Slovakia, Peru, Togo, Colombia and Cameroon announced their first infections. The number of cases worldwide has climbed past 100,000. More than 3,400 people have died.