(MIAMI FLA – AP) — A COVID-19 outbreak took place on a South Florida-based cruise ship for the third time this week, as the number of coronavirus cases in Florida hit its highest level since the start of the pandemic.
An undisclosed number of passengers and crew aboard the Carnival Freedom cruise caught the virus, so the ship was denied entry to Bonaire and Aruba, Carnival said in a statement.
The ship has 2,497 passengers and 1,112 crew members and was scheduled to return to Miami on Sunday following an 8-day cruise. According to Carnival, passengers were required to be vaccinated and tested before leaving last Saturday.
“Carnival Freedom is following all protocols and has a small number on board who are in isolation due to a positive COVID test,” the statement said. “Our protocols anticipate this possibility, and we implement them as necessary to protect the health and safety of our guests and crew.”
Ashley Peterson, a passenger on the ship, tweeted a photo of a Dec. 22 letter from the ship’s captain apologizing for being unable to make stops in Aruba and Bonaire. The letter said passengers would get $100 per room in onboard credit and refunds for planned excursions.
People have spent thousands of dollars on this cruise and picked this cruise for the ports. Now on an 8 day cruise we will have only gone to 1 place on a delayed schedule. They think $100 per room is enough compensation? What? @CarnivalCruise #covidcruise pic.twitter.com/4jqKdgwzV9
— Ashley Gets Around (@ashleygetsround) December 22, 2021
This week, it was the third outbreak affecting cruise ships operated by Carnival and Royal Caribbean departing Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
Meanwhile, Florida had almost 32,000 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, breaking a record for the most cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic in the U.S. in March 2020, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new record was driven by the spread of the new omicron variant through the Sunshine State. The previous single-day highest number of cases was last August, during the height of the delta variant wave in Florida, when 27,802 cases were reported.
So the big question remains… What will the Yucatan government do with the cruise ships arriving in Progreso, each with more than 4 thousand people?
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