ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Another cruise ship with coronavirus victims on board, including two deceased people, docked in Florida on Saturday.
Princess Cruises spokeswoman Nekin Kamali said in an email that the Coral Princess ship was docking in Miami.
The 1,020-passenger cruise ship with 878 crew members was at sea for days awaiting clearance to arrive in port.
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Seven passengers and five crew members had tested positive for coronavirus, Kamali said Thursday.
According to the cruise line, people needing hospitalization will disembark first, although it was unknown at the time when that would happen. Meanwhile, those who are in a position to travel by plane will begin to get off today, Sunday, and those who have symptoms of respiratory diseases will remain on board until the doctor authorizes their departure.
The day before, on Friday, the Zaandam and Rotterdam cruises were cleared to dock at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, with 14 critically ill people being rushed to hospitals. The remaining passengers were allowed to descend to take flights to their cities.
The Coral Princess was making a journey through South America that would end on March 19 in Buenos Aires. Since then, the ship has struggled to dock due to port closures and flight cancellations, the cruise line said.
The passengers are confined to their cabins, where the food service takes them. Crew members also remain in their enclosures when they are not working.
The Coast Guard said in a statement Saturday that it participated in the last three weeks in the processing of some 120 ships that had about 250,000 passengers due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Coast Guard, as of Saturday there were 114 cruises with 93,000 crew members in or near US ports and waters.
