Another cruise ship with virus victims docks in Florida
Published:Sunday | April 5, 2020 | 4:46 PM
ST PETERSBURG, Florida (AP) — Another cruise ship with coronavirus victims on board, including two fatalities, docked in Florida on Saturday.
Princess Cruises spokeswoman Negin Kamali said in an email that the Coral Princess ship was docking in Miami.
The ship with 1,020 passengers and 878 crew members had been in limbo for days awaiting permission to dock.
As of Thursday, Kamali said seven passengers and five crew members had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Anyone in need of hospitalisation would disembark first, the cruise line said, although it wasn’t immediately clear when that would happen.
Those who are fit to fly will begin leaving on Sunday, while others who have symptoms of respiratory illness will remain on board until cleared by ship doctors.
A day earlier, the cruise ships Zaandam and Rotterdam were permitted to dock at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, with 14 critically ill people taken immediately to hospitals.
The remaining passengers were slowly being allowed to board flights for home.
The Coral Princess had been on a South American cruise that was due to end March 19 in Buenos Aires.
Since then, the ship has encountered obstacles to docking because of various port closures and cancellation of airline flights, the cruise line said.
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