Three crew members and one passenger aboard the Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship docked in Port of San Diego have tested positive for COVID-19, local health officials confirmed Tuesday. Dr. Eric McDonald, the county's medical director of epidemiology said three crew members who had been isolated onboard the ship with respiratory symptoms were tested positive for novel coronavirus.
In a letter sent on Tuesday to all passengers sailing on this voyage, Celebrity Cruises advised them to self-quarantine for 14 days. "Celebrity Cruises has recently been advised that a person who sailed on Celebrity Eclipse from March 1st through 30th has recently tested positive for COVID-19. Because you were a passenger on the same voyage, it is possible you were exposed to someone who was sick with COVID-19,"
A fellow crew member sailing on Celebrity Eclipse has sent us the following report
"The Eclipse arrived in San Diego early on Monday morning and we were finally able to start disembarking the guests. On Monday evening the captain announced that one of the guests who disembarked was sent to a hospital and tested positive for COVID-19. The ship shut down most services and operated under OPP level 3. Guests continued to disembark throughout Tuesday, being told that they must self isolate for 14 days when they get home.
We were told last night that 3 crew members have also tested positive for COVID-19. As of today, there are still about 200 guests on board, and head office is trying to negotiate with CBP to allow the guests to disembark in Los Angeles. If that is rejected the plan is to disembark them in Acapulco, Mexico. There has been no information on whether the crew will be allowed to disembark or not. All the crew here have really done a great job during this difficult period, and I'm sure will continue to do so until the final guest is disembarked.”
Update April 3: Report from a crew member "We are still docked in San Diego. The Head office is trying to find a solution with CBP and the US government to allow to remaining guests to leave the ship. They started moving some crew into guest cabins last night to ensure that everyone has their own cabin and we are all confined to our cabins as of this morning. There was an issue with the food delivery system today where all meals are supposed to be brought to our rooms, but many crew still living in crew areas appeared to have been forgotten about. It is currently 16:30 and some crew members are still waiting for their first meal of the day. There have been no more official statements on any further COVID-19 cases, so the official tally still stands at 3 crew and 1 guest.
