Six test positive for COVID-19 after Bahamas cruise

As of Saturday, July 31, 2021

By The Associated Press

Six passengers who sailed on a Royal Caribbean ship tested positive for COVID-19 near the end of their cruise and were immediately quarantined, the company said Friday.

The passengers – four adults and two minors – were on the Adventure of the Seas ship for a 7-day trip that left The Bahamas last Saturday and returned on Friday, said Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Lyan Sierra-Caro. They were tested Thursday while the ship was at sea.

The adults were all vaccinated against COVID-19, Sierra-Caro said, and one has mild symptoms of the virus while the other three do not. They were not traveling together.

The two minors -- who were in the same group but not traveling with any of the four adults who tested positive -- were not vaccinated and were not showing symptoms, the spokeswoman said.

All six are American citizens, Sierra-Cano said. They were quarantined and people traveling with them were traced and tested negative, she said.

Sierra-Cano said the six passengers would fly back to the U.S. on private transportation at Royal Caribbean's expense and won't need to quarantine in The Bahamas.

The ship was in Freeport, Bahamas, on Friday, where other passengers were free to go on shore, and the cruise will end Saturday in Nassau as scheduled. Sierra-Cano said the company would tell other passengers about the infections once they were all back on board Friday.

Royal Caribbean Group says it requires passengers who are 16 or older to be fully vaccinated and provide a negative test for COVID-19 before boarding, and children who aren't old enough for the vaccines must test negative. All crew are fully vaccinated, according to the company.

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ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago

"tested positive for COVID-19 near the end of their cruise"

when did they become infected? the flight to Nassau, at the immigration desk, in the taxi cab, at the hotel front desk, out for dinner, at the junkanoo rushout,

We wont know. Dr Minnis declared that fully vaccinated dont need a test to come here and they dont need to wear masks. There are 2 pandemics. Party on!

ohdrap4 3 years, 3 months ago

The CDC reversed itself. After a huge outbreak in Cape Cod where 74% of the outbreak were fully vaccinated.

The "internal report" was leaked.

But Minnis has not reversed himself , but it was reported on ABC news that 4 fully vaccinated passengers were positive leaving here.

Now they changed the story to say the vaccines were only to stop hospitalization and NOT to prevent transmission or infection.

How can that be, when they actively told the vaccinated not to wear mask.

Wait what will happen a week after lollapalooza concert.

Disneyworkd now says all mask on, patrons and staffers alike.

ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago

I dont think they changed the story. Theyve always said it was possible for a fully vaccinated person to infect another person but the chances of it happening was very low because vaccinated persons would have a much lower viral load. On Friday they said it was discovered that vaccinated persons infected with the delta variant could have the same viral load as unvaccinated making them equally as likely of spreading the virus.

In absence of the CDC'S new guidance it was common sense to ask vaccinated persons to take a test. We dont seem to be operating with common sense. Why take the risk when the science is not at a point of 100% certainty?

What is absolutely unbelievable about Dr Minnis and Renward Wells is that they would even take the gamble. They need to stop parroting what other countries say and start protecting Bahamians from the "potential" of infected persons crossing the border, be they Bahamian or tourist. Every death post July 2020 has been because of their botched tourists cant be infected policy.

ohdrap4 3 years, 3 months ago

No one has even considered the possibility of rapid test on arrival for tourists.

Even when disagreeing with the govt, the doctors can only talk about restrictions such as lockdown and curfew.

Another thing I do not understand is, given that the viral load for the vax is now the same as the unvax, why they are still pushing a vaccination agenda.

My brother is working abroad where he is being mandated to vaccinate and the courts have affirmed that lack of vaccine is just cause for dismissal. He is now desperately trying to obtain a medical exemption.

I fear the time will come after election when the civil service will me mandated to vaccinate.

Why? Why? Why not get another type if vaccine that pwrforms better.

ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago

the viral load thing is only for delta...so far. Vaccination makes sense as a general concept. We've vaccinated against diseases for decades. The troubling thing here is the way they've done it. When there was no vaccine they vilified Bahamians with manipulated data when there was a vaccine they vilified Bahamians with manipulated data. Now theyre wondering why people dont trust anything they say and refuse to be vaccinated... well there are no vaccines in any event

John 3 years, 3 months ago

On Friday they said it was discovered that vaccinated persons infected with the delta variant could have the same viral load as unvaccinated making them equally as likely of spreading the virus

THIS IS WHERE IT BECOMES SCARY: so the virus is actually building up in a vaccinated persons’s body, but the symptoms are being suppressed and these people move around, not being tested and spreading the virus. Fauci has admitted on Friday that ‘breakthrough’ patients who have been vaccinated can spread the virus. But what will happen to those who have been vaccinated and their viral load continues to increase? Will vaccinated people start getting ill in great numbers and need hospitalization? Is this what is happening in Florida, where 60% of the adult population is vaccinated, yet Florida recorded its highest number of new cases on Friday, some 21,000. And what about Israel? That country gave third doses of the vaccine to it’s most vulnerable people but yet is still seeing a surge in new cases. There are too many unanswered question and confusing information. The CDC said the unvaccinated were a threat because they were infecting vaccinated people. Now they are admitting that vaccinated people are infecting unvaccinated as well as other vaccinated people. Though Fauci is saying a vaccinated person can only infect another vaccinated person when there is a breakthrough of the virus. But breakthrough cases are also increasing. Apparently they rushed these vaccines not knowing what the intermediate and long term effects will be. The world should have went the way of China and continue to enforce safety protocols and strict border control, if even in conjunction with vaccines.And, despite the surge in Florida, the mayor says he will NOT enact a mandatory mask wearing law.

ohdrap4 3 years, 3 months ago

The breakthrough infections are being kept low because of emergency orders.

They will increase as more and more vaccinated done together indoors or campaign together once the orders are over.

I would like to see the contents of the new health act.

whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago

Well breakthrough cases are low really because they re not testing vaccinated people...we ll know more about them when policy testing changes or alternatively the immune memory inferred by vaccines falls off...but bottom line covid is an now endemic disease at this point - it will always be with us. The mistakes our politicians made will be too (though they want to forget as quick as they can).

John 3 years, 3 months ago

The US just reported its most active week for new corona cases since the pandemic began. Florida led the pack with 22,000 cases alone on Friday. The Bahamas also recorded some 166 cases on a single day. Florida is now considering not opening schools for face to face learning is the state’s Governor says he will not mandate laws for mandatory masks in schools. So will The Bahamas see additional record cases as Bahamians return home from travel and vacations across the US. And tourists continue to flock to these shores?

ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago

Its weird that they refuse to acknowledge the link between tourist travel and infection rates. This has been a well established fact since 1918 when they realized that sailors were the cause of infection spread. So they made it mandatory that ships observe a 14 day quarantine period. Quarantine would be the safest route but impractical. The next best thing is test everybody crossing the border. There's no other option

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