Passengers Held Aboard Cruise Ships Infected With COVID-19 Virus (see video below) – Chinese health officials said Wednesday the death toll from the novel coronavirus has reached 1,113. It stood at 1,016 on Tuesday. Officials at China’s National Health Commission said there were now 44,653 confirmed cases in mainland China. There have been 31,000 cases of COVID-19 from more than two dozen countries, with 636 confirmed deaths.
The official name of the virus is now, COVID-19. It stands for the coronavirus disease that was discovered in 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the name Tuesday, saying it was careful to find a name without stigma.
The United States will allow nonemergency consulate employees in Hong Kong and their families to leave because of the coronavirus outbreak, a State Department official said on Wednesday.
Travis Air Force base says five people who arrived from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, last week have tested negative for coronavirus. The number of quarantined passengers on the base dropped by one to 233 today because one person had been mistakenly counted twice each day.
Holland America Line – Westerdam
Over 2,000 passengers and crew aboard the Holland America Line Westerdam remain stranded on the high seas, on Wednesday, February 12, days after they were supposed to dock in Yokohama, Japan on February 15. There are more than 600 Americans aboard Holland America’s cruise ship MS Westerdam that was barred from docking in Thailand on Tuesday. Westerdam was rejected by multiple countries, despite having no known or suspected cases of the new coronavirus among its passengers and crew.
A Holland America Line spokesperson said Tuesday there were 1,455 guests, including 650 U.S. citizens, and 802 crew members on board.
The cruise ship was expected to disembark in Bangkok on Thursday, but Thai Deputy Transport Minister Atirat Ratanasate said in a Facebook post on Tuesday, that while the ship would not be allowed to dock, Thailand “will gladly help in providing fuel, medicine and food” to the ship.
Holland America said Wednesday the ship has received “all approvals” to dock in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
Princess Cruises – Diamond Princess
In Japan, where 3,600 cruisers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship have been quarantined for over a week, the mood among passengers shifted Wednesday as dozens of more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Thousands of people on board the Diamond Princess have been quarantined at sea since docking in the Japanese port of Yokohama on February 3.
At least 174 people aboard the vessel had tested positive for the new coronavirus by Wednesday — with 39 new cases in the past 24 hours. One quarantine officer has also been infected, according to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Dr. Eric Cioe-Pena, director of global health at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York. “We are seeing numbers increase dramatically, which likely means that there is an ongoing spread of the virus on these ships. That’s concerning, as it’s creating a second epicenter of the infection in a Japanese port.”
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines – Anthem of the Seas
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL) ship Anthem of the Seas with 4,190 passengers docked in Bayonne New Jersey with 27 passengers ill, of those 23 were cleared to disembark. The other four were from a family who recently traveled to China. RCCL is now forbidding boarding to anyone using a passport from China, Hong Kong or Macau.
More than two dozen passengers aboard Anthem of the Seas have been tested for the new coronavirus, state officials said Friday, and four have been hospitalized.
Princess Cruises – Caribbean Princess
The 321 passengers on crew members on Caribbean Princess are experiencing symptoms similar to norovirus (vomiting and diarrhea). However at this time, the CDC has not confirmed the exact cause of the illness. It is important to note that this illness outbreak is not related to coronavirus in any way.
Article Resources:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) Coronavirus
- Live Cruise Ship Tracker – Westerdam
- Live Cruise ship tracker – Diamond Princess
- Live Cruise Ship Tracker – Anthem of the Seas
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- Cruise Ship Travel Warnings By Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Video: How the coronavirus is impacting cruises and passengers
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