Tag Archives: quarantined

Brazilian Health Agency Warns Against Cruise Ship Travel

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Brazilian health agency Anvisa on Sunday warned passengers against boarding cruise ships operating along the Brazilian coast after outbreaks of COVID-19 affecting crew and customers, according to a statement on its website.

The move follows a call for the “immediate temporary interruption of the cruise ship season in Brazil” as they pose a risk to public health.

“In view of recent events, Anvisa does not recommend the embarkation of passengers who have trips scheduled on cruise ships for the next few days,” the statement said.

“This recommendation takes into account the rapid change in the epidemiological scenario, the risk to the health of passengers and the unpredictability of operations at this time.”

There are five cruise liners operating on the Brazilian coast being monitored by Anvisa, the agency said.

MSC Splendida and Dawn in Palma Photo credit Spacejunkie2

The MSC Splendida, anchored at Santos, was banned from embarking new passengers from late Saturday and the vessel was quarantined from Sunday. The Diadema was ordered to suspend service and all passengers will need to disembark when it arrives at Santos, Anvisa said. 

The other three are the MSC Preziosa, Costa Fascinosa, and MSC Seaside, which face a potential boarding ban and service suspension pending further epidemiological investigation, Anvisa said. (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Cruise industry defends record after a critical TV documentary

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Zaandam Ship Stats & Information- Holland America Line Zaandam ...

The cruise industry has defended its record in tackling the coronavirus crisis in the wake of a critical ITV documentary screened on Thursday.

The hour-long ‘Billion Pound Cruises: All at Sea’ focused on the plight of various Princess Cruises ships and Holland America Line vessel Zaandam which were caught up in the pandemic.

It highlighted the impact on passengers and crew and detailed the number of deaths involved.

The documentary featured passenger footage taken onboard Diamond Princess, which was thrust into the spotlight as the virus became a pandemic due to an outbreak on the ship as it was docked in Japan which led to guests and crew being quarantined.

However, global cruise industry body Clia said: “While the tragic reality of the pandemic has meant that its impact has been felt across all walks of life, Clia believes that the industry’s rapid response is one reason why the number of cases linked to ships was a small fraction of the global total.”

The association stressed that health and safety are “integral” to the cruise industry, which is currently at standstill across most of the world due to government restrictions.

A Clia spokesperson said: “No other form of travel provides such high transparency in public health reporting, or requires such stringent cleaning and hygiene protocols.

“Within 48 hours of the WHO [World Health Organisation]  announcing an international emergency, Clia ocean cruise lines introduced enhanced screening protocols worldwide, including health and travel history checks prior to the embarkation of every passenger and crew member.

“Upon the declaration by the WHO of a pandemic, Clia ocean cruise lines voluntarily suspended operations worldwide, making the cruise industry one of the first to do so.

“Some ships had to travel thousands of miles to return to port, and repatriation was complicated by international air travel and border restrictions; Clia cruise lines have also successfully repatriated many thousands of crew members, and have been working non-stop with governments and health authorities to secure the safe return of crew members to their homes.”