In the words of Royal Caribbean, “everyone who tests positive for asymptomatic disease was not afflicted with any symptoms.”
48 passengers on the Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise vessel has confirmed positive for COVID-19.
In the words of NBC News, the ship included more than 6,000 passengers as well as staff as it arrived in Miami on the weekend. The cruise featured seven nights of travel that started in Miami on December 11 and concluded on December 18 with stops in St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Royal Caribbean’s CocoCay island located in the Bahamas.
Each passenger was required to provide proof of a positive COVID-19 test that was conducted at least two days prior to the time when the ship was due to leave, as per Royal Caribbean. One guest was found positive for COVID-19 during the cruise. After the positive test, the cruise line widened their contact tracer to reveal other instances.
“Each passenger was quickly isolated,” Royal Caribbean said in an announcement to Health. “Everyone who was positive for COVID was not symptomatic or showed minimal symptoms while their overall health status was continuously examined.” Six people who were positive for COVID-19 departed shortly into the journey The remaining passengers who were positive for the disease quit the ship when the voyage ended on the 18th of December.
According to CNN that 98 % of people who tested positive were vaccine-free. In actuality 95 percent of guests on cruises were vaccine-free.
As per Royal Caribbean, all staff passengers on cruises must be fully vaccinated and screened regularly. Anyone aged 12 or above must be immunized prior to sailing as per Royal Caribbean. Children between five and 11 who have been vaccinated may provide evidence of vaccination and follow the same protocols that are followed for visitors who have received vaccinations and those who haven’t been vaccinated are required to undergo COVID-19 tests to verify they aren’t infected by the virus. If a customer is eligible for a cruise, the operator “highly recommends” that they receive their booster shot prior to traveling.
When the epidemic, some of the first cases of COVID-19 were discovered in a cruise ship. They were subject to a “no sail” directive from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States for months before being permitted to sail under strict rules at the beginning of this year.
Anyone who isn’t fully vaccinated against COVID-19 must stay clear of cruise ships, as per the CDC since the risk of contracting COVID-19 during cruise ships is “high.” Some cruise lines, although not all, require full vaccination before leaving.
The COVID-19 epidemic on the Royal Caribbean isn’t the first COVID-19 outbreak that has been linked to cruise ships. Despite the requirement of the company that all passengers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at the very least 17 passengers, onboard the Norwegian Cruise Line ship tested positive for the virus as early as December.
Experts say it’s not a surprise that the first COVID cases could occur during cruise ships, even if everyone was vaccinated properly, as Health previously declared. “Breakthrough illnesses are not unavoidable. It is always possible to get them “The vice-chancellor for research and translational medicine at Rutgers University in New Jersey, Reynold Panettieri, MD recently said to Health.
Despite the testing procedures implemented on last year’s Royal Caribbean trip, it’s not impossible to imagine that cases could occur. As per Thomas Russo, MD, director of the department of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo in New York the testing process prior to embarking isn’t always a perfect method of testing. “There could be sick people on the vessel who are not symptomatic but not infected enough to be detected with the boarding test,” the doctor said. “You could be positive at the time you board the vessel and develop an illness later on.
