"Twenty one individuals on the Grand Princess tested positive", Pence said at a White House briefing on Friday. "Among those positive for coronavirus were 19 crew members and two passengers".
The US health authorities have altogether tested 46 people out of more than 3,500 people on board. The shipping company said earlier that there are four Russian nationals among the crew.
After confirming the coronavirus presence, the authorities decided that the ship will be brought to a non-commercial port and with all the people on board tested for the disease, Pence added.
COVID-19 was first registered in the Chinese city of Wuhan, Hubei province, last December and has since spread to more than 80 countries worldwide. In mainland China, it has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people.
