The cruise ship Carnival Magic held in quarantine passenger who works at Presbyterian Hospital in Texas, and handled clinical Ebola specimens from Thomas Duncan. The nurse, whose name was not released boarded Carnival Magic before the American Government increased the surveillance of persons who treated Thomas Duncan, a Liberian who died from Ebola in Texas.
The Belize government released a statement that they received official information from the United States saying that the cruise ship had a passenger with "very low risk of Ebola", but was prevented from landing in the country.
"The nurse does not have Ebola and has no symptoms of the virus 19 days after she was handling the specimen in the hospital where the patient was treated with Ebola " said Emilio Silvestri. Carnival Magic was scheduled to arrive in Cozumel however Mexican Authorities denied ship to access the port, therefore had to return to its homeport in Galveston one day before the schedule.
Carnival Cruise lines released statement saying:
The Carnival Magic, which was waiting off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico this morning to dock there for a scheduled port visit, had not received clearance from Mexican authorities to do so by 12 noon eastern time today and therefore the decision was made to proceed to Galveston to ensure the ship arrives there on time on Sunday morning. We greatly regret that this situation, which was completely beyond our control, precluded the ship from making its scheduled visit to Cozumel and the resulting disappointment it has caused our guests. The Texas healthcare worker on board continues to show no symptoms of illness and poses no risk to the guests or crew on board. The individual remains in voluntary isolation. Guests on the ship are being provided a $200 per person credit to their shipboard accounts and a 50 percent discount on a future cruise based on the missed visit to Cozumel.
6:00 am Statement:
Late afternoon on Wednesday, Oct. 15., we were made aware by the U.S. CDC of a guest sailing this week on board Carnival Magic who is a lab supervisor at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. At no point in time has the individual exhibited any symptoms or signs of infection and it has been 19 days since she was in the lab with the testing samples. She is deemed by CDC to be very low risk. At this time, the guest remains in isolation on board the ship and is not deemed to be a risk to any guests or crew. It is important to reiterate that the individual has no symptoms and has been isolated in an extreme abundance of caution. We are in close contact with the CDC and at this time it has been determined that the appropriate course of action is to simply keep the guest in isolation on board.
Additional background:
None of Carnival Cruise Lines’ ships visit the region where Ebola cases are originating nor do our ships call in any countries with Level 3 CDC Travel Heath Notices. Any passengers or crew who have visited or traveled through Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea within 21 days of a cruise departure date will be denied boarding. Additionally, all guests sailing with us must answer a series of health screening questions during embarkation and, if deemed necessary, will be asked to submit to further medical screening prior to being allowed to board. All cruise lines continue to monitor the situation closely, along with our colleagues in the rest of the travel industry. The cruise industry is in close, frequent contact with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) for updates and guidance.
Carnival Magic is based year-round in Galveston, TX and operates seven-day cruises to the Caribbean. The ship departed Galveston on Sunday, Oct. 12 and will return on Sunday, Oct. 19.
