Coronavirus: 13 Coral Princess guests stuck aboard; Australian police raid Ruby Princess
The Coral Princess cruise ship returned to sea Thursday after another batch of passengers departed, but 13 foreign travelers who are being prevented from leaving are still aboard, Princess Cruises said.
Although five charter flights – one domestic and four bound for Europe and South America – were scheduled to depart Thursday, Princess Cruises said it ran into red tape while trying to help those 13 get home.
"Despite continued efforts through diplomatic channels, current travel restrictions by home countries will prevent homeward travel for 13 international guests, and local authorities will not authorize the use of local hotels," the cruise line said in a statement.
As a result, the 13 will join the Coral Princess crew in a self-imposed quarantine on the ship, which was scheduled to leave Port Miami by 6 p.m. EDT. Additional staff was being brought aboard the liner to support those under quarantine.
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The cruise line has been putting Coral Princess guests on chartered planes all week in keeping with a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation that no cruise ship passengers be allowed on commercial aircraft, even if they haven't shown any flu symptoms.
The Coral Princess' ordeal began March 5 when the ship departed Santiago, Chile, with 1,020 passengers and 878 crew members. The ship was then denied permission to dock at ports as it proceeded northward before finally being allowed to dock in Florida.
Three passengers died, including a 71-year-old man in a Miami hospital after being taken off the ship.
Australian police raid ship at center of virus outbreak
Australian authorities wearing protective gear boarded the Ruby Princess ship linked to hundreds of coronavirus cases and 15 deaths to seize evidence and question crew members.
About 2,700 passengers disembarked from the ship on March 19 in Sydney and it has since become the largest source of coronavirus infections in Australia. More than 600 cases of COVID-19 and 15 deaths are linked to the Ruby Princess.
New South Wales police, which boarded the ship Wednesday night at Port Kembla south of Sydney, said it’s expected to remain in port for 10 days with its 1,040 crew undergoing medical assessments. About 200 crew have shown symptoms of COVID-19, while 18 have tested positive for the virus. The workers remaining on the ship are from 50 countries.
New South Wales police Commissioner Mick Fuller said Thursday that officers seized a black box “very similar to that of international planes” and other evidence. He said the captain had been extremely helpful.
There have been a total of just over 6,000 and 51 deaths in Australia from the virus.
Crew member of Zaandem cruise ship dies in Florida
A crew member who was hospitalized for days after two ill-fated cruise ships with coronavirus patients were finally allowed to dock in Florida has died, officials said.
Broward County Medical Examiner Craig Mallak on Thursday confirmed the death of Wiwit Widarto, 50, of Indonesia. Widarto had tested positive for COVID-19, raising the Zaandam ship's coronavirus-related death toll to four.
The man died Wednesday, six days after the Zaandam and a sister ship docked in the Fort Lauderdale port after spending two weeks at sea rejected by South American ports, said Holland America Line spokesman Erik Elvejord. He had been taken to a Florida hospital the same day the ship docked.
Four elderly passengers had already died before the cruise ships arrived, and the medical examiner said earlier this week that three of those men tested positive for COVID-19. The fourth man's death was caused by a viral infection.
About 1,200 passengers disembarked the Zaandam and sister ship the Rotterdam, which was sent to replenish the first with supplies and crew members who were falling ill. The cruise company and federal and Florida officials negotiated for days before allowing disembarkation.
Six Pride of America crew members test positive in Honolulu
Six crew members aboard the Pride of America cruise ship tested positive for the coronavirus, including two who have been hospitalized, a Hawaii state agency reported.
Elsewhere, the Carnival Valor – one of the ships the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said had passengers who tested positive for coronavirus – docked in New Orleans and is letting crew members off the ship. The Coral Princess continues to disembark passengers in Miami.
The Pride of America is docked in Honolulu harbor, the Hawaii Department of Transportation said in a statement. About 500 crew members are still aboard, but the vessel has had no passengers embarked since March 14. Like the rest of the cruise industry, ships have been idled to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
There was no further information on the condition of the two crew members who were taken to a hospital. None of the names of the ill crew members has been released.
The ship is operated by Norwegian Cruise Line, which had no immediate comment. The Transportation Department said the ship is homeported in the state and offers cruise itineraries that keep it in the Hawaiian islands.
It said Hawaii's Department of Health is working with the cruise line and the CDC to get unaffected crew members off the ship and on their way to their home states. When they arrive, they will be required to home quarantine for 14 days.
Crew disembarks from Carnival Valor in New Orleans
The Carnival Valor docked in New Orleans on Wednesday night, according to Carnival spokesperson Vance Gulliksen.
"Crew members who are debarking the vessel have been cleared to fly by our medical team, the airline transporting them, and by immigration authorities," according to the cruise line's statement provided by Gulliksen. "They will be taken from the Carnival Valor directly to the airport via chartered buses which will be thoroughly cleaned after each use."
The CDC released a list of cruises where passengers became symptomatic and tested positive for COVID-19 within 14 days after disembarking. This included the Carnival Valor: Feb. 29 to March 5; March 5 to 9; and March 9 to 14.
Each member of the crew had their temperatures taken every day over the past month and will do so again upon leaving the ship.
The cruise line is taking extra precautions in case of asymptomatic spread.
"For the health and safety of all crew remaining on board, all crew are being quarantined and we are following elevated protocols so that any asymptomatic team member does not inadvertently come into contact with others," according to the statement.
Since the middle of last month, all 27 Carnival Cruise Line ships have remained docked at homeports or anchored at sea. They contain no guests, just crew.
Looking ahead to May and June, the cruise line anticipates international travel restrictions will remain in place.
"We are taking a conservative approach with regard to getting our crews back to the ships, so we have closed inventory on those sailings so that we don’t overextend our ability to provide service on board," according to another statement provided by Gulliksen.
As of Saturday, there were 52,000 crew members remaining aboard 73 cruise ships either docked or anchored in or near U.S. ports, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement. An additional 41,000 crew members were aboard 41 cruise ships underway close to American shores.
That doesn't count the thousands of others aboard ships frequented by Americans scattered across the Caribbean and oceans around the world.
The Coast Guard said, "The cruise industry has an ongoing obligation for the care, safety and welfare of their seafarers."
Contributing: Jayme Deerwester, Chris Woodyard, Morgan Hines, Curtis Tate and Rasha Ali, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: Why 13 Coral Princess guests will be stuck on board ship
