Cruise Ship

Passengers From Virus-Infected Ship Leave For Australia

April 11, 2020 6:11 pm

More than 100 Australians and New Zealanders left Uruguay on a chartered flight after two weeks stranded aboard a virus-infected cruise ship, Montevideo’s Carrasco airport said Saturday.

Of 217 people aboard the Greg Mortimer liner, 128 had tested positive for new coronavirus and had been blocked from docking.

An agreement between the Uruguayan and Australian governments was made to create a “sanitary corridor” to take the mostly elderly tourists from Montevideo’s port to its international airport where they boarded a flight for Melbourne, bringing to an end weeks of a virus nightmare.

Television images showed jubilant passengers boarding the …

Florida Governor Bans Passengers From Virus Cruise Ship

March 30, 2020 6:17 pm

Florida’s governor said Monday that he does not want passengers suspected of suffering from coronavirus on the cruise ship Zaandam to be “dumped” in his southern US state.

The Holland America Line vessel passed through the Panama Canal overnight as the company searched for a port that will allow the Zaandam passengers to disembark.

“We view this as a big, big problem and we do not want to see people dumped in southern Florida right now,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told Fox News. “I’m in contact with the White House on this.”

DeSantis later said he would like to have …

Four Passengers Die On Stranded Dutch Cruise Ship

March 27, 2020 5:49 pm

Four passengers have died aboard a cruise ship carrying scores of people with flu-like symptoms that has been stranded off the Pacific coast of South America for several days, the liner company said Friday.

The Zaandam cruise ship, with 1,800 passengers on board, is currently in Panama’s territorial waters, having been prevented from docking in several countries due to coronavirus fears.

“Holland America Line can confirm that four older guests have passed away on Zaandam,” the Dutch-owned company said in a statement.

“Yesterday a number of patients with respiratory symptoms were tested for COVID-19 and two individuals tested positive.”

The …

Japan Cruise Ship Virus Cases Climb To 174

February 12, 2020 5:18 pm

Another 39 people aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus, authorities said Wednesday, as thousands more steel themselves for a second week in quarantine.

With 174 confirmed cases, the ship that arrived with over 3,700 passengers and crew has become the largest single cluster of the newly named COVID-19 virus outside its origin in China, where it has killed more than 1,100.

Passengers and crew are now halfway through a 14-day quarantine that is due to end on February 19 and have been mostly confined to their quarters, aside from being allowed …