Over 40 People Have Been Infected with COVID-19 on Norway Luxury Cruise Liner
Remember months back when there were several cruise ships with outbreaks of COVID-19? It made us wonder what the future of cruise ships would be and if/when it would be safe to take a cruise. Apparently, it’s not safe just yet.
MS Roald Amundsen is a cruise ship operated in Norway by the Hurtigruten line which also operates 15 other ships. Mid-June, the MS Roald Amundsen was the first cruise ship to start up operations again after shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, crew members and passengers onboard the ship have tested positive for COVID-19.
This past Friday, 4 crew members were hospitalized for COVID-19, and after being tested, another 32 of the 158 staff members also tested positive. The infected crew members are from the Philippines, Norway, France and Germany.
Also this past Friday, while the crew was quarantined but before they had their test results, 178 passengers were allowed to disembark from the ship.
Line Vold, a senior executive of Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), said, “We expect that more infections will be found in connection to this outbreak.”
So far, 5 passengers who have traveled on the MS Roald Amundsen over the summer have tested positive for COVID-19, and all passengers have been told to self-isolate for 10 days. Since passengers travel from all over the world, it is becoming very difficult to locate all of them and to make sure they understand what precautions to take.
An FHI spokesman said, “Messages have been sent to all the passengers. We’re now seeking to verify that the information has been received and understood.”
In a statement, Hurtigruten Chief Executive Daniel Skjeldamsaid said, “This is a serious situation for everyone involved. We have not been good enough and we have made mistakes. A preliminary evaluation shows a breakdown in several of our internal procedures. The only responsible choice is to suspend all expedition sailings.”
For more on this new COVID-19 outbreak, watch the video below.
Does it surprise you that there would be another outbreak of COVID-19 on a cruise ship? What precautions do you think cruise ships need to make in order to prevent future outbreaks of the virus?
