COVID-19 case hits 1st Caribbean cruise since pandemic
- by Jake Bell
- in Research
- — Nov 14, 2020
This was the first such Barbados roundtrip cruise since the ship completed its transatlantic journey earlier this month.
Passengers are locked down on board the SeaDream 1 cruise ship after a passenger had tested positive for COVID-19. It came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new cruise ship guidance to help an industry paralyzed by the pandemic to safely resume operations in a phased approach.
Despite strict predeparture coronavirus-testing guidelines, five passengers aboard the ship have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to CNN's Ana Cabrera. "The ship's medical staff has tested all crew members and all tests have come back negative".
The Norway-based SeaDream Yacht Club, the ship's parent company, wouldn't say how many passengers tested positive in the initial round of testing.
More news: Pelosi, Schumer say Trump's rhetoric is 'poisoning well,' McCarthy welcomes legal challengesTorbjorn Lund, the captain of the SeaDream 1, on Wednesday announced that a passenger had been diagnosed with COVID-19 on a preliminary basis.
Passengers were told to return to their cabins, he reported, noting that there were 53 passengers and 66 crew on the vessel anchored off the Grenadines.
Passengers were tested both in advance of travelling to the ship and also before boarding the ship, Sloan said.
After the first positive test, Sloan wrote that the ship began working under the assumption that it had more infected passengers onboard and would immediately return to its point of departure in Bridgetown, Barbados.
More news: Actor Asif Basra found dead at private guest houseThe potential outbreak would mark another blow for cruise ship industry which was among the worst hit by after several coronavirus outbreaks were reported across multiple liners earlier this year, some of which were required to keep their passengers quarantined aboard for weeks.
"As the first luxury line to begin sailing again, we have learned many lessons and are confident we can provide a safe environment without sacrificing luxury", said SeaDream's Andreas Brynestad in the September announcement outlining the Barbados voyages.
"SeaDream I has paused its current Caribbean voyage and returned to Barbados after guests' tests for COVID-19 returned assumptive positive results", the company said in a press statement. However, the vessel only landed at empty beaches where passengers could focus on off-vessel activities without coming in contact with locals on the islands. 'We were scheduled to be tested again today.
All ships planning to sail from the United States have to get approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as it ended its no-sail order on October 31 that had been in place since mid-March. They later lifted the order to allow "simulation" cruises in the USA.
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