Despite the vaccination of staff and crew, two passengers tested positive for Covid-19 on a cruise, confirming that these ships are privileged places of contamination.
- The Diamond Princess, an ocean liner present off Japan in February 2020, is the first known global cluster.
- All passengers were vaccinated and presented a negative PCR test less than 72 hours old.
- The boat had been at sea since June 5, when it left Sint Maarten, the Dutch part of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin.
Since the beginning of the health crisis, cruises have regularly appeared as privileged places of contamination. The Diamond Princess, an ocean liner present off Japan in February 2020, is the first known global cluster. All 700 customers on board were infected and studies later found that a single passenger was responsible. Nearly a year and a half later, cruises continue to be a high point of contamination.
Vaccinated passengers
This Thursday, aboard the Celebrity Millenium, one of the first cruise ships to sail in North America since the start of the pandemic, two positive cases of Covid-19 were identified. These cases arose despite “crew and passengers vaccinated”, announced the Royal Caribbean cruise line in a press release. “Individuals are asymptomatic, currently in isolation and monitored by our medical team”, specified the company which added to conduct a contact tracing operation.
The boat had been at sea since June 5, when it left Sint Maarten, the Dutch part of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. Everything was going very well, until the moment of “compulsory end-of-cruise test” during which the two passengers tested positive. Before leaving, the company had however taken precautions by asking for proof of vaccination and a negative PCR test of less than 72 hours.
Cruise ships at sea since May
In total, there are approximately 2,500 people in the boat, with 600 passengers accompanied by 650 crew members. Cruise passengers have been allowed to go back to sea since last May, with very strict conditions imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A total of 95% of people sailing on cruise ships, passengers and employees, must be vaccinated. Leaving Sint Maarten, the Celebrity Millennium was to complete a seven-day journey via Barbados, Aruba and Curaçao.
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