(DailyExpertNews) — A Carnival cruise ship that departed Miami has on board “a small number” of people who have tested positive for Covid-19, and it has been barred from ports on two Caribbean islands, the cruise line said.
“Carnival Freedom follows all protocols and has a small number on board who are in isolation due to a positive Covid test,” the statement reads Mathews.
“Our protocols anticipate this opportunity and we implement them where necessary to protect the health and safety of our guests and crew. This is a vaccinated cruise and all guests were also tested before boarding,” the statement reads.
The Carnival Freedom departed Miami on December 18 and stopped in Curaçao on Tuesday. The planned stopovers on the Caribbean islands of Bonaire on Wednesday and Aruba on Thursday were cancelled.
Those stops were replaced by Friday’s stop in the Dominican Republic, and the ship will return to Miami on Sunday as scheduled, the cruise line said.
According to the statement, the cruise line is working closely with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health authorities at the destination it serves.
“The rapid spread of the Omicron variant may shape how some destination authorities view even a small number of cases, even when managed with our powerful protocols,” Mathews said. “Some destinations have limited medical resources and are focused on managing their own local response to the variant.
“Should it be necessary to cancel a port, we will do our best to find an alternative destination.