Minnesota’s 1st case of coronavirus in cruise ship passenger

ST. PAUL — Minnesota health officials said Friday the state has its first confirmed case of coronavirus.

The Minnesota Department of Health said the case is an older adult from Ramsey County who traveled recently on a cruise ship that carried another person with a known case.

The Minnesotan developed symptoms Feb. 25 and sought health care Thursday, the department said. The state got a positive test result on Friday, and is awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control.

Officials said the person is isolated at home and recovering, with help from St. Paul and Ramsey County public health officials.

The department said it’s working to identify and contact people who may have come into contact with the infected person. Those people will be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days from their date of exposure and will be monitored for symptoms.

It’s not immediately clear which cruise ship the person was on. One passenger on a Grand Princess ship that went to Mexico from Feb. 11 through Feb. 21 has died of the disease and health officials have recently disclosed that six other people on that same excursion were infected.