Carnival Cruise Passenger Dies After Testing Positive for COVID-19

Table Of Content

• Cruise Law News
• As cruise ship passengers and crew contract COVID-19, cruise lines upgrade their protocols
• CORONAVIRUS - LIVE MAP OF CRUISE SHIPS AFFECTED BY NOW
• Passengers test positive for COVID on fully-vaxxed Royal Caribbean cruise
• CDC warns older adults, travelers in COVID high-risk groups not to take cruises, even if they're vaccinated
• Other port segments

” notwithstanding the fact that her symptoms began 4 days into the cruise which was consistent with the incubation period explained by the CDC which can begin as early as 2 days. Seventeen months later today, it is clear that Carnival is refusing to disclose the total number of crew and guests infected with COVID-19 on any particular cruise and is sloughing off direct responses to such inquiries from the media. It is also apparent that guests are disembarking from Carnival ships and quickly testing positive  without follow up by this cruise line.

Cruise Law News

All passengers and crew have to show proof that they’re fully vaccinated, reports said. The CDC has recently reported that 15 of the 24 ships currently sailing in U.S. waters with paying passengers have experienced outbreaks of the virus on board. "We have always required vaccinations. From our restart in July, 95+% guests have been vaccinated. We meet the definition of a vaccinated cruise," a Carnival spokesperson told NBC News' Kerry Sanders on Tuesday. "And we added the testing requirement on July 28. (August) 28 is when new guidelines for the Bahamas go into effect." Starting last Saturday, Carnival began requiring passengers to wear their masks in indoor areas. Starting this Saturday, all passengers will need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test to board.

Opinion What Covid? The Cheesy Cruise Makes a Big Comeback - The New York Times

Opinion What Covid? The Cheesy Cruise Makes a Big Comeback.

Posted: Tue, 01 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

As cruise ship passengers and crew contract COVID-19, cruise lines upgrade their protocols

Because traveling in the era of COVID is never risk-free, up-to-date information can help travelers make better-informed decisions, taking into account their personal health status and willingness to take risks. Carnival added that "our protocols are designed to manage and mitigate COVID amongst guests and crew." So far, Carnival and other cruise lines have dealt with the cases without disrupting their ship schedules.

CORONAVIRUS - LIVE MAP OF CRUISE SHIPS AFFECTED BY NOW

Among them, there were cases involving 26 crew members and one passenger on the Carnival Vista on a recent cruise that sailed from Galveston, Texas. Marilyn Tackett, a 77-year-old from Oklahoma, tested positive aboard the ship and was admitted into a hospital in Belize, one of the ports on the cruise's itinerary. There, she was put on a ventilator after having respiratory issues, according to the Times. Celebrity is planning the first post-pandemic ship out of the US, in Florida, at the end of the month, the cruise line has said. The Celebrity Edge is set to take off from Fort Lauderdale with a fully vaccinated crew and a requirement that passengers over 16 show proof of vaccinations.

I have also heard from guests on different Carnival cruise ships who tested positive after returning home from cruises who tried to contact Carnival and had to leave a message with sales representatives that they tested positive for COVID-19. Another couple left a tweet to this effect on Twitter and commented that other guests tested positive as well. CDC protocol says at least 95% of passengers and crew must show proof of vaccination to board a cruise ship. COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported on cruise ships in recent months, despite various testing and vaccination requirements among cruise lines. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has banned vaccine passports and challenged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance for cruise ships. The CDC requires ships to have 98 percent of its crew and 95 percent of passengers fully vaccinated.

Is Your Cruise Ship Safe? How To Check Its COVID-19 Status

Carnival Cruise Lines previously did not require vaccinated passengers to bring a negative COVID-19 test or wear a mask, but the cruise line changed its guidelines following the positive cases. For example, six passengers on a recent Royal Caribbean International Adventure of the Seas cruise sailing from Nassau, the Bahamas, tested positive for COVID-19. Three passengers tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of the recent inaugural seven-night sailing from Port Canaveral of Carnival Cruise Line’s newest and largest ship, the Mardi Gras.

Passengers test positive for COVID on fully-vaxxed Royal Caribbean cruise

The discovery was among a series of positive COVID-19 tests among passengers and crew of ships operated by Carnival and other cruise lines in recent weeks. The CDC recommends people who go on cruises wear a mask in shared spaces and get tested one to three days before their trip and three to five days after, regardless of vaccination status. Passengers who are not fully vaccinated should also self-quarantine for at least seven days after their cruise ends, according to the CDC's website. "Carnival has implemented a suite of protocols that are designed to flex up as needed to adapt to the changing public health situation related to COVID-19," the cruise line told Insider in a statement. "We meet the standards for a vaccinated cruise as defined by the CDC, with at least 95 percent of our guests and all of our crew being vaccinated."

The appearance of COVID-19 on the Mardi Gras as cruising returned to Port Canaveral is a sign of just how precarious the restart of cruising can be. Twenty-seven people sailing on Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Vista ship have tested positive for COVID-19. Of those who tested positive, 26 are crew members and one person is a passenger, according to a news release from the Belize Tourism Board Wednesday. After leaving one Carnival Vista passenger with COVID-19 alone in a sub-standard hospital in Belize and sailing on to the next port (Cozumel), Carnival belatedly claimed that “it was highly unlikely Ms. Tackett contracted the coronavirus aboard the ship .

Other port segments

At the Tulsa hospital, her condition worsened and she died, says an update on the crowdfunding page from August 15. That was done through a combination of 68 permanent layoffs, 17 unpaid furloughs, and not filling 30 positions that were left vacant because of retirement or employees taking jobs elsewhere. Even with the ARPA money, Port Canaveral expects to report losses of $39.48 million during the current budget year. Poole said the money will be received in monthly installments, and can be used for a variety of operating and capital expenses. The money will help cover its losses stemming from a 16½-month shutdown of the cruise industry locally because of COVID-19.

Twenty-six of those who tested positive were crew members and the other was a passenger. "The CDC’s conditional sail order and our own protocols anticipate the potential for COVID on board, and our procedures are designed to manage and mitigate any situation," Carnival said in a statement on that incident. "The health, safety and well-being of our guests, crew and the destinations we visit is our priority."

For example, he is projecting that ships sailing from Port Canaveral will operate at 50% of their double-occupancy capacity from October through December 2021. Then, he is projecting that they will operate at 75% of their double-occupancy capacity from January through September 2022. Carnival said it also has a process in place to randomly test a large percentage of its crew on a rotating basis multiple days per week, even though all are vaccinated. In the Mardi Gras incident, three Carnival Cruise Line passengers had COVID-19 on the inaugural sailing of the ship from Port Canaveral on July 31. Carnival Cruise Line failed to reveal any information regarding the number of infected guests or crew members on this ship. The two passengers are asymptomatic but in isolation while the cruise line conducts contact tracing, the statement said.

In the end, all COVID-era travel entails weighing available information in light of personal health factors and one’s tolerance for risk. The new CDC color code system for cruise ships offers one more metric to help make these tough decisions. A color-coded system developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can provide helpful information about the COVID-19 status of cruise ships operating or planning to operate in U.S. waters. The outbreak of 27 cases aboard the ship was discovered on the fourth day of an eight-day cruise, shortly before the ship docked in Belize.