California man had coronavirus *before* he boarded Grand Princess, cruise ship official says

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-07/spread-of-coronavirus-on-grand-princess-ship-raises-public-health-alarms

By ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE, ANITA CHABRIA, MELODY GUTIERREZ, NOAH BIERMAN

MARCH 7, 2020 4:04 PM

As thousands remained strained on a cruise ship off coast of San Francisco amid a coronavirus outbreak, a cruise line medical officer said Saturday that that California passenger who died of the virus brought it on board the Grand Princess

Dr. Grant Tarling, the cruise’s medical officer, said the man — who later died in Placer County after leaving the cruise — sought medical care on the ship Feb. 20 and had been sick for several days. Tarling said two waiters who served the man multiple times were subsequently infected.

If true, it could mean there could have been community spread of the virus in California earlier authorities have previously disclosed. Tarling believe it was, but California public health officials could not immediately comment.

“In order to protect patient confidentiality, we cannot provide information about specific cases such as this,” the California Department of Public Health said in a statement. Placer County officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

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