Family of Grand Princess passenger who died of coronavirus suing cruise line for its handling of outbreak

close

Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for June 2

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

The family of a man who died from coronavirus is suing Carnival and Princess cruise lines, claiming the companies intentionally hid that passengers and crew members were infected by COVID-19 and did nothing to slow the spread of the virus to other passengers.

San Francisco resident Ronald Wong, 64, died from coronavirus after allegedly contracting the virus while onboard the Grand Princess with his wife, Eva, in February.

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

When Eva and Ronald were allowed to disembark in Oakland, they were sent to Travis Air Force Base to quarantine, where they both tested positive for COVID-19, KTVU reported.

This suit is just one of several against the cruise companies for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak onboard. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

In the lawsuit, the Wongs accuse the cruise liners of allowing passengers to board after knowing that 62 passengers and hundreds of crew members had been exposed to the novel coronavirus on a previous trip on the Grand Princess, the outlet reports.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

In a statement to KTVU, attorney Alison Cordova alleged Carnival and Princess "welcomed thousands of happy passengers onboard the Grand Princess knowing that the cruise ship was a petri dish festering with the coronavirus."

Eva and son Benjamin Wong filed the suit on behalf of Ronald in Federal Court in Pasadena in Southern California.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

This suit is just one of several against the cruise companies for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

Two other Grand Princess cruise passengers sued the cruise line for $1 million over its handling of the ship's coronavirus outbreak, claiming they are now “at serious risk of imminent harm as a result of being exposed to the coronavirus running rampant aboard the cruise ship.”

The Grand Princess had more than 100 positive cases and two deaths linked to the cruise earlier this year.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

While the liner told Fox News it does not "comment on any pending litigation," Princess Cruises said it “has been sensitive to the difficulties the COVID-19 outbreak has caused to our guests and crew. Our response throughout this process has focused on the well-being of our guests and crew within the parameters dictated to us by the government agencies involved and the evolving medical understanding of this new illness."