Table Of Content
A 68-year-old Italian man was evacuated from the ship in the Cayman Islands following a stroke on February 29 — before he passed away, the man tested positive for the coronavirus. A married couple were disembarked from the cruise liner on March 8 in Puerto Rico to be hospitalized — the elderly couple both tested positive for the virus, the Wall Street Journal reported. The passenger with respiratory problems has since tested negative for the coronavirus.
More than 2,000 people are stranded on Holland America cruise ship
"We're now on a mystery cruise because we have no idea where we're going," he told Business Insider. The Celebrity Eclipse will embark on a 10-day journey to San Diego after being turned away from a port in Chile on Sunday. Panama is battling the largest outbreak in the region, with 786 cases and 14 deaths as of Friday. “Those who are confined were quarantined in a five square metre cabin, given only three small pieces of bread and a small amount of cereals,” she said, adding there is a lack of water, fresh air and two people are confined to each cabin room. The wife of one of the 85 crew members in isolation with flu-like symptoms on the Zaandam expressed concerns about the conditions for staff.
Costa Luminosa leaves behind three passengers who tested positive for COVID-19
The Zaandam will be allowed through the waterway to ensure passengers and crew “an expedited return home” after Panama's Ministry of Health approved the journey, the Panama Canal Authority said in a statement. Despite Donald Trump’s repeated vows to bail out the cruise ship industry, money for cruise companies was not a part of the $500bn in aid for large employers included in stimulus bill passed by Congress on Wednesday. Lori Bessler, a southern California resident whose parents are stuck onboard the Coral Princess, another boat stranded off the coast of Brazil with no reported illness onboard, says she is nonetheless concerned for her family’s health and wellbeing. “My mom and stepdad are diabetics and … we’re very concerned about them having enough medication to sustain them,” she told the Guardian. We sincerely thank our guests and their loved ones for their continued patience and understanding during this unprecedented situation. According to a passenger named CJ Hayden, the ship last docked in Exmouth, Western Australia on March 3 — since then it's been refused entry at several previously scheduled ports, including Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.
Stranded Holland America cruise ship where 4 died amid coronavirus outbreak granted Panama Canal passage
It was trying to get to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after being denied permission to dock at its original destination in Chile a week ago. My mum had an existing cough and for this reason she was refused on the rescue boat and kept on the ‘sick ship’ Zaandam. Passenger Laura Gabaroni Huergo of Florida has been issuing pleas for government assistance for days from the cabin she’s sharing with her husband, but she said the bad news announced on the ship Friday left her speechless and fearful. Most of the major cruise operators register their companies in countries such as Panama and Liberia, thereby avoiding most US taxes and labor laws. Thus, the cruise industry’s trade group said on Thursday the companies will not have access to the US aid for large employers, according to the Washington Post.
'Very scary': pleas for safe harbour from stranded cruise ship near Panama
But with ports now closing around the world amid coronavirus fears, the ship's trajectory remains uncertain. However, no passengers will be allowed to disembark in Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa. It remains unclear where and when the Norwegian Jewel's more than 2,000 passengers will be allowed to come ashore. Dramatic scenes of coronavirus-stricken cruises, such as the Grand Princess in California and the Diamond Princess in Japan, have become synonymous with the pandemic.
However, Australia closed its ports to cruise ships in the hopes of curbing coronavirus infection, now its next move remains uncertain. It's been left with nowhere to go since the Chilean port banned cruise ships from entering its ports. The cruise ship attempted to dock after its parent company Celebrity Cruises announced it would be suspending all cruising operations globally on Saturday due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions. The ship has kept its 2,600 passengers and 1,100 crew on the boat since arriving at Akaroa Harbor in New Zealand since Sunday, according to The Straits Times.
More Than 2,000 Stuck On Cruise Ship Because Of Mystery Illness - Forbes
More Than 2,000 Stuck On Cruise Ship Because Of Mystery Illness.
Posted: Sun, 25 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
"All on board are not being allowed off the ship until results are known," New Zealand's director-general of health, Ashley Bloomfield, announced on Sunday. Although the cruise ship was stranded in the Bahamas, a cargo ship delivered a supply of food, medication and ship supplies overnight. The cruise line confirmed the four deaths involved “older guests,” but did not say where they were from, or whether those who tested positive for the coronavirus were among them. Another Holland America ship, the Rotterdam, delivered medical supplies and medical personnel to the Zaandam on Thursday.
The plight of those still adrift highlights how cruise ships have become a kind of pariah of the seas, with cities wary of becoming the next home for a potentially infected vessel. The March 15 letter cited "challenges maintaining scheduled itinerary in light of rapidly changing restrictions limited to COVID-19" as the reason for the cancellation. The Zaandam crew would work with Chile in order to arrange a disembarkation on March 21, and would remain in the port to accommodate guests unable to catch an immediate flight. The American passenger who spoke with Business Insider said he was especially upset about the lack of assistance for guests who booked travel arrangements independent of Holland America. The March 15 letter advised that passengers who'd signed up for the line's Flight Ease program would have their "homeward flights rebooked to depart from Punta Arenas at our expense." Cruise ships are currently clogging Port Tampa Bay, according to the The Tampa Bay Times.
After making stops in Montevideo, Uruguay and the Falkland Islands, the cruise was canceled on March 15. Passengers received a letter apologizing for the situation; "We are very sorry to inform you that our current sailing will now terminate in Punta Arenas, where we have arrived today." Although none of the passengers onboard appeared to be sick, the ship was still turned away forcing the cruise liner was forced to change its course, BuzzFeed reported. After the Celebrity Eclipse was denied entry at the port in San Antonio, Chile, the cruise lining company attempted to work with the Chilean government to allow the cruise liner with a capacity of nearly 3,000 to enter. "The protection of the health and safety of passengers and crew members is a top priority for Costa Cruises," the company said in a statement to Miami Herald. The Costa Luminosa, which is owned by the Carnival Corporation, has had three guests diagnosed with COVID-19.
As the Rotterdam pulled alongside the Zaandam in darkness Thursday night, passengers exchanged photos and cheered each other on a Facebook group created for the ship. Australian passenger David Holst said today that the ship's captain had not yet revealed where the Westerdam was going next. Zaandam will make a service call on March 20 in Valparaiso, Chile, for fuel and provisioning.
Hundreds of North American, Australian and British citizens are in isolation in their rooms and a boat-to-boat operation is underway to move some healthy travellers to a sister ship, the Rotterdam, over the weekend. Some chat with other cabins on a Facebook group, others enjoy the free liquor, snap pictures of brown boobies flying outside their windows, or partake in meditation, yoga classes and a daily quiz offered via the ship’s TV. Passengers joke the top quiz prize should be extra face masks or toilet paper, or a chance to get outside and do laps around the promenade deck. The fast-moving nature of the virus has added to the confusion – when many passengers left for vacations in early March there were no cases of Covid-19 in South America, so they thought it would be safe to travel.
Passengers on a cruise ship stranded off the coast of Panama have issued a desperate plea to be allowed to dock after four people died during a covid-19 outbreak on board. Meanwhile a report from the US Centers for Disease Control this week laid the blame on cruise ships for spreading the virus in the crucial early weeks of the outbreak, linking hundreds of cases to the Diamond Princess and Grand Princess. Sailing around Cape Horn and cutting through the Panama Canal were both on the itinerary for passengers, along with a number of day trips at ports throughout South America.
"From there the ship will head north, and Holland America Line is currently working on finalizing the details for the best place for guests to disembark as soon as possible and return home," the spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement. "We are actively working to find an alternative port and are communicating with guests regularly as we have further information," the cruise line said in a statement to CNN. "Voyages that are underway will conclude and guests will be disembarked as soon as possible and assisted with travel arrangements." After one guest onboard the Silver Shadow tested positive for COVID-19, the cruise ship was docked in isolation at a port in northeastern Brazil. The ship originally departed from Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 7, and was scheduled for a 14-day cruise of South America, with plans to disembark in San Antonio, Chile, on March 21.
The ship is steaming up the coast of South America, hoping to make it through the Panama Canal and on to the US. But the Florida port, where many of the passengers had planned to disembark on the final leg of the cruise, has refused to confirm that the ship can dock. Four other ships are scheduled to arrive in Japan this month, and would also be asked to turn back if infections are reported on board, Abe said. But Japan wrecked those plans yesterday by announcing it would use immigration laws to block the entry of foreign passengers from the ship. The vessel then sailed to Japan, with the cruise operator saying that passengers would disembark in Yokohama rather than Shanghai as initially planned. The Westerdam left Hong Kong on February 1, with 687 passengers remaining on board from a previous voyage.
No comments:
Post a Comment