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| - Passengers and crew on a giant cruise ship held off the coast of San Francisco were awaiting the results Friday of tests to determine if any of the 3,500 people on board have the new coronavirus. Health officials on Thursday tested 45 people -- a mix of guests and crew -- on board the Grand Princess as the more than 2,400 passengers were confined to their cabins pending the outcome. Earlier Friday, President Donald Trump signed an emergency $8.3 billion spending bill to fight the outbreak and was set to visit the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in Atlanta. "We have big news on the ship," President Donald Trump told reporters at a morning briefing after signing the emergency funding that was set aside by Congress to fight the disease. "I just spoke to the governor of California Gavin Newsom, we just had a good conversation. We're working on the ship together," he added. The White House briefly canceled the president's visit to the CDC, a globally renowned public health institute that is leading the US response to the outbreak, after someone there was suspected of being infected. But the trip was later re-added to Trump's schedule after the person tested negative. More than 200 people have contracted the deadly virus in the United States, and 12 people have died, 11 of them in the state of Washington. The spread of the disease prompted some universities and schools in Washington state this week to cancel classes or move them online. In an email to students on Friday, the University of Washington said all classes and final exams for the winter quarter, which ends March 20, will take place online. "We plan to resume normal class operations when spring quarter begins March 30, pending public health guidance," university president Ana Mari Cauce said. "Today, it's our turn to take on the challenge of keeping our community safe by listening to public health experts," she added. Another school, Boston-based Northeastern University, which has a satellite campus in Seattle, also said its campus will move to online teaching on Monday. In a statement on Friday, it urged all faculty and students -- about 1,135 -- to stay home. In California, where more than 60 people have been diagnosed with the virus -- including two airport medical screeners -- and one person has died, health officials were also bracing for the numbers to spike as more and more people are tested. The person who died was a 71-year-old man who had been on board the Grand Princess during its previous voyage between San Francisco and Mexico. Another passenger who was on that trip has also tested positive. Health officials sounded the alarm over the cruise ship after several passengers who were on the previous voyage and remained on the vessel for its next trip to Hawaii developed flu-like symptoms during that trip. Princess Cruises said there were 3,533 people aboard, including 2,422 passengers and 1,111 crew. In total, they represent 54 nationalities. Carolyn Wright, a passenger, told AFP there was no panic on board, and people seemed to be taking the setback in their stride. "I can't get over how the news is sensationalizing our ship," said the 63-year-old professional photographer from New Mexico who was traveling with a friend. "There were two cases on the previous cruise, and they act like everybody on board has the plague." She said that by mid-morning on Friday, passengers had yet to be given the all-clear. Ellen Carroll, the head of the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, said that once test results are back, the CDC and California state officials will determine the most appropriate location for the ship to berth. Princess Cruises operates the Diamond Princess -- the coronavirus-stricken ship held off Japan last month from which more than 700 people tested positive and six died. Worldwide, more than 3,000 people have died from the fast-spreading virus that has infected more than 100,000 people in some 85 countries. jz/to
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