(CNN) — A Royal Caribbean cruise ship was denied entry into two island nations after 55 absolutely vaccinated crew members and passengers contracted Covid-19 solely days after the ship had set sail from Fort Lauderdale, the Miami Herald reported Wednesday.
Odyssey of the Seas was barred from getting into Curacao and Aruba, successfully remaining at sea till its deliberate return December 26 to Fort Lauderdale, in accordance with the Herald.
Well being officers in Curacao refused to permit the ship to dock as a result of the share of contaminated individuals on board was too excessive, the Curacao Chronicle reported.
There have been 51 constructive instances on board on Wednesday morning, in accordance with Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth, Curacao’s nationwide epidemiologist.
“The day earlier than yesterday, 18 crew members have been constructive, yesterday 36 and this morning there have been 51. As well as, a number of crew members haven’t been quarantined, so there’s a good likelihood that passengers have additionally been contaminated,” mentioned Gerstenbluth.
“With these numbers of infections, that share has been exceeded and we’re due to this fact not desperate to obtain these individuals on the island, particularly not with the present figures on the island,” Gerstenbluth informed the Chronicle.
In response to Royal Caribbean, Odyssey of the Seas can accommodate as much as 5,500 company plus 1600 crew members. It wasn’t clear if the ship was absolutely occupied on this journey.
The outbreak comes days after at the least 48 individuals aboard Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas tested positive for Covid-19 when the cruise docked in Miami, the corporate mentioned.
The Symphony of the Seas — identified to be the world’s greatest cruise ship — had greater than 6,000 passengers and crew on a week-long journey across the Caribbean. The quantity of people that examined constructive accounted for 0.78% of the on-board inhabitants.
It’s unclear whether or not the extremely infectious Omicron variant, which is at the moment spreading quickly world wide, was liable for the instances detected on both cruise.
Royal Caribbean rules dictate that each one vacationers on board a ship aged 12 and above have to be absolutely vaccinated and take a look at unfavorable earlier than departure. The cruise line says it “strongly recommends” company obtain a booster dose previous to crusing, however this isn’t at the moment mandated.
Crew members are additionally required to be absolutely vaccinated and take a look at “at the least as soon as every week.”
CNN’s Andy Rose, Francesca Road and Lechelle Benken contributed to this report.
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