- The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the Caribbean cruise ship in the midst of a COVID outbreak has jumped to five.
- In addition, there is preliminary evidence that there may be a sixth case on board.
- Testing overnight of close contacts of the original passenger to test positive for COVID-19 had turned up a total of five confirmed cases in his traveling party.
- The testing was performed by health authorities from the government of Barbados, where the ship docked late Wednesday night.
According to a recent news report in the Points Guy written by Gene Sloan, more passengers test positive for COVID on Caribbean cruise ship.
5 confirmed cases
The five confirmed positive cases amount to nearly 10% of the passengers on the vessel. There are 53 passengers and 66 crew on board.
The list of passengers on SeaDream 1, which just resumed Caribbean sailings on Saturday out of Barbados, includes me. I’ve been on board since Saturday covering this week’s voyage — a watershed moment for the cruise industry.
The testing spree
The ship’s doctor and an assistant tested passengers and crew using three Abbott ID Now testing machines that the vessel carries on board.
Barbados health authorities tested passengers and crew using tests that are being sent off the ship to a laboratory.
Testing by both the ship’s doctor and Barbados officials was the big onboard story of Thursday. I was tested first by the ship’s doctor at about 3 p.m. on Thursday.
The test was performed at the doorway to my cabin, where I have been under quarantine since Wednesday.
About two hours later, I got a call from the ship’s reception that the result was negative.
Passengers quarantine
All passengers and nonessential crew on the ship have been under quarantine in their cabins since around noon on Wednesday, when the first positive COVID test came back.
The ship and local authorities had been in discussions about a plan for the next few days.
It would allow passengers who test negative for COVID-19 to leave the ship in the coming days.
The passengers would have to have negative results on both the test performed by the ship’s doctor and the test performed by Barbados authorities.
Passengers who test positive on one of the tests would be informed one by one on the next steps.
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Source: The Points Guy
