MSC Cruises flagship MSC Seashore arrived today in Port Miami with dozens of people who tested positive for COVID-19. In a letter the cruise line informed guests onboard that 28 people tested positive for the virus.
“You are receiving this communication as part of our protocol and in line with CDC guidelines. We would like to inform you that during routine monitoring, a limited number of cases amongst the guests and crew were discovered who tested positive for COVID-19. Twenty-eight (all fully vaccinated) of the 4714 guests and crew have tested positive for COVID-19 - 0,59% of the onboard population. We immediately implemented our MSC Health protocols and isolated the positive cases and their close contacts in the section of the ship that is dedicated to this and is separate from the rest of the ship, all in balcony cabins. The majority who tested positive are asymptomatic and feeling well and those who are symptomatic have only mild symptoms and are stable, and we are continuing to monitor their health. COVID-19 positive guests will receive assistance to return home upon arrival in Port Miami.” MSC Cruises letter to guests reads in parts.
30 crew members sent to a hotel in Miami
Today a fellow crew member onboard the MSC Seashore informed us that the number of crew who tested positive for COVID-19 has increased to about 30. The positive crew will disembark the ship and will be sent to a hotel in Miami for a 14-day quarantine before returning back aboard MSC Seashore. The crew member said that the next voyage will go on as per schedule with a late departure from PortMiami.
Why is the percent-positive rate on cruise ships important?
In the past few days, several cruise ships have been denied entry to Caribbean ports. Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas is the latest cruise ship that was barred from entering Curacao and Aruba after 55 passengers and crew contracted Covid-19. This represents represent 1.1% of the Odyssey of the Seas onboard population during that voyage.
According to Dr. Gerstenbluth Head of the Department of Epidemiology & Social Science of Curacao, there is a protocol that stipulates that one percent of the number of people on the ship may be infected with the Covid-19 in order to be permitted to dock in port. “With these numbers of infections, that percentage has been exceeded and we are therefore not eager to receive these people on the island, especially not with the current figures on the island,” said Dr. Gerstenbluth for Curacao Chronicle.
This might be one of the reasons why cruise lines are adding the percentage of the infected population on board in their communication, and probably the main one why MSC Seashore positive crew members are sent to quarantine in Miami. Actually, the protocol to disembark positive crew was introduced during the restart of the cruise season in Europe as a requirement by the EU Health Authorities. With the rise of the positive cases in the Caribbean cruises, it seems that this is the only way for the cruise companies to sail under one per cent infected population, at least that’s the case with MSC Cruises.
