Over 40 Minnesotans kept on cruise ship where more than a dozen have tested positive for COVID-19

Steve and Lynn Fuchs of Big Lake, Minnesota, are stuck aboard the Grand Princess cruise line along with more than 3,500 travelers.

That number includes at least 40 other Minnesotans, state health officials said on Saturday.

"We are confined to our state rooms and have been since Thursday after lunch," Lynn Fuchs said. "They keep telling us we’re going to be going somewhere, but they don’t tell us where that somewhere is."

There was a coronavirus outbreak on the cruise line, which was heading from San Francisco to Hawaii to Mexico right before the Fuchses boarded. So far 21 cases have been confirmed on the Grand Princess — 19 are crew members, and two are passengers.

MDH says ‘no community exposures of concern’ in first coronavirus case

They’re on the same boat where travelers on the previous voyage tested positive. One of those travelers is the patient with COVID-19 here in Minnesota, a person who is described as over 65 with underlying health conditions. That patient is recovering in isolation at home in Ramsey County.

There were 25 other Minnesotans on the previous cruise, none of which have tested positive for the virus.

Minnesota health officials say the patient who tested positive hasn’t had any interactions that lasted more than 10 minutes within 6 feet of another person, including health care workers, since returning home.

"In terms of the patient and the potential impact on Minnesota, we have only positive things to say, and that is that we don’t have concerns now about community exposure," said Kristen Ehresmann, the director of infectious disease for the Minnesota Department of Health.

But as the Fuchses wait somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, they say they’ve been in limbo now that more aboard are testing positive for COVID-19.

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"They tell us everyone is going to be tested, but they don’t tell us what is going to happen based on their test results," Lynn Fuchs said.

The MDH says it will continue processing more lab tests from patients to see if there are more cases in the state. So far the state has tested 49 people for COVID-19, and 48 of those tests have come back negative.