Photo: Mohssen Assanimoghaddam/picture alliance via GettyFifty-five passengers and crew aboard Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas cruise ship have tested positive for COVID-19, the company confirmed.Due to the outbreak, Odyssey of the Seas will no longer stop in Curacao and Aruba as previously planned,The Washington Postreports.The change in schedule comes just days after the ship departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Dec. 18 for an 8-day planned cruise, according toNBC News.The news comes just days after the company’sSymphony of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, also had an outbreak. That ship, which returned to Florida on Saturday, reported 48 positive COVID-19 cases, 98% of whom were vaccinated.LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty"The decision was made together with the islands out of an abundance of caution due to the current trend of covid-19 cases in the destinations' communities as well as crew and guests testing positive on board," Royal Caribbean said in a statement shared with thePost.Around 5,000 people are aboard the Odyssey of the Seas, the company told NBC News, and about 95 percent are vaccinated. A spokesperson added that the 55 people who tested positive “are fully vaccinated and mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic.“According to Royal Caribbean’svaccine policy, passengers 12 years and older must provide proof of vaccination.According to theCuracao Chronicle,Odyssey of the Seas was prohibited from docking in Curacao because “the percentage of infected people on board was too high.“Epidemiologist Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth told theChronicleon Wednesday, “The day before yesterday, 18 crew members were positive, yesterday 36 and this morning there were 51.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.Gerstenbluth added, “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.“In 2020, several cruise ships across the world were sources of major COVID-19 outbreaks including numerous deaths.Last spring, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) issued a “no-sail order,“causing cruise companies to halt all sailings in the Caribbean, but many have since returned as restrictions are eased.As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
Photo: Mohssen Assanimoghaddam/picture alliance via Getty
Fifty-five passengers and crew aboard Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas cruise ship have tested positive for COVID-19, the company confirmed.Due to the outbreak, Odyssey of the Seas will no longer stop in Curacao and Aruba as previously planned,The Washington Postreports.The change in schedule comes just days after the ship departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Dec. 18 for an 8-day planned cruise, according toNBC News.The news comes just days after the company’sSymphony of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, also had an outbreak. That ship, which returned to Florida on Saturday, reported 48 positive COVID-19 cases, 98% of whom were vaccinated.LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty"The decision was made together with the islands out of an abundance of caution due to the current trend of covid-19 cases in the destinations' communities as well as crew and guests testing positive on board,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement shared with thePost.Around 5,000 people are aboard the Odyssey of the Seas, the company told NBC News, and about 95 percent are vaccinated. A spokesperson added that the 55 people who tested positive “are fully vaccinated and mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic.“According to Royal Caribbean’svaccine policy, passengers 12 years and older must provide proof of vaccination.According to theCuracao Chronicle,Odyssey of the Seas was prohibited from docking in Curacao because “the percentage of infected people on board was too high.“Epidemiologist Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth told theChronicleon Wednesday, “The day before yesterday, 18 crew members were positive, yesterday 36 and this morning there were 51.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.Gerstenbluth added, “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.“In 2020, several cruise ships across the world were sources of major COVID-19 outbreaks including numerous deaths.Last spring, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) issued a “no-sail order,“causing cruise companies to halt all sailings in the Caribbean, but many have since returned as restrictions are eased.As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
Fifty-five passengers and crew aboard Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas cruise ship have tested positive for COVID-19, the company confirmed.
Due to the outbreak, Odyssey of the Seas will no longer stop in Curacao and Aruba as previously planned,The Washington Postreports.
The change in schedule comes just days after the ship departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Dec. 18 for an 8-day planned cruise, according toNBC News.
The news comes just days after the company’sSymphony of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, also had an outbreak. That ship, which returned to Florida on Saturday, reported 48 positive COVID-19 cases, 98% of whom were vaccinated.
LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty
“The decision was made together with the islands out of an abundance of caution due to the current trend of covid-19 cases in the destinations' communities as well as crew and guests testing positive on board,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement shared with thePost.
Around 5,000 people are aboard the Odyssey of the Seas, the company told NBC News, and about 95 percent are vaccinated. A spokesperson added that the 55 people who tested positive “are fully vaccinated and mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic.”
According to Royal Caribbean’svaccine policy, passengers 12 years and older must provide proof of vaccination.
According to theCuracao Chronicle,Odyssey of the Seas was prohibited from docking in Curacao because “the percentage of infected people on board was too high.”
Epidemiologist Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth told theChronicleon Wednesday, “The day before yesterday, 18 crew members were positive, yesterday 36 and this morning there were 51.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.
Gerstenbluth added, “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.”
In 2020, several cruise ships across the world were sources of major COVID-19 outbreaks including numerous deaths.
Last spring, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) issued a “no-sail order,“causing cruise companies to halt all sailings in the Caribbean, but many have since returned as restrictions are eased.
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
