Two cruise ships have reported COVID-19 cases during their latest voyages in Brazil. Costa Cruises ship Costa Diadema set to dock at the Port of Santos on Monday has detected 13 cases of Covid-19 (10 passengers and 3 crew members), reports the Brazilian news portal G1. The ship's next departure for the New Year's Eve cruise was delayed, however this will not affect the next cruise, which includes stops in Salvador and Ilhéus, Bahia.
In a video posted on social media, Costa Diadema Cruise Director Naim José Ayub confirmed positive cases on board. According to him, the first case was detected at the beginning of the cruise, after routine testing carried out onboard the ship.
"After Salvador and Ilhéus we had eight more cases that were immediately isolated, " he said. People in close contact with the positive cases were placed in isolation. “ This is a standard procedure. These people are isolated and then disembark directly home ”, added Ayub.
Costa Cruises said that following the Health and Safety protocols established by the cruise line together with the Brazilian authorities and Anvisa, it carries out daily testing of 10% of the guests on board. Guests who tested positive for Covid-19 were immediately isolated, as well as the close contacts.
Costa Diadema completed the disembarkation of all passengers, and started the boarding process for the next cruise, after complete cleaning and disinfection of the ship.
MSC Cruises reported 20 positive cases onboard the MSC Splendida. The ship arrived at the Port of Santos on Sunday, carrying 2,549 guests and 1,251 crew members. MSC Cruises said that 15 passengers and 5 crew members tested positive before the ship arrived in Santos on December 26.
All 20 cases were immediately isolated in a dedicated section of the ship in balcony cabins, away from all guest operations. As soon as the ship docked in Santos, isolated, guests disembarked the ship as part of the protocol for quarantine on land. The positive crew members also disembarked the ship and will remain in isolation in a hotel. MSC Splendida was cleared by the port authorities and departed from Santos as scheduled.
