Carnival cruise ship reports 27 positive COVID-19 cases on board

The Belize Tourism Board reported 27 vaccinated people who are on board the Carnival Vista cruise ship to be tested positive for COVID-19. In total, 27 positive persons, 26 are the crew members of the cruise ship.

Only one passenger is positive after testing of COVID-19. The tourism board gave the information that the majority of the positive cases are fully vaccinated and are asymptomatic. These people have mild symptoms.

Last week similarly, the cruise ship reported positive cases on board, at that time, the numbers of the cases were not revealed. The authorities this time gave the report of the recent outbreak when the cruise ship sailed from Galveston, Texas and headed towards Belize.

Carnival said in a statement that they had managed the situation using valid health protocols, which include placing the people who were tested positive in isolation and the close contacts were shifted in quarantine.

The tourism board of the country said that no new cases had been logged till now. The ship continued sailing, anchoring in Cozumel.

The board stated that after a careful analysis of the situation and calculating that the risk is lower, including the fact that the CDC has been informed about the situation, it was concluded that the situation is under control, and safety measures are proving effective. The recent outbreak of the COVID-19 cases on the cruise is the worst from the date carnival resumed sailing this summer.

After coming into action, Carnival again updated that the mask will be mandatory and urged all Vista guests to wear masks whenever they are in the indoor area. According to the new updations by Carnival, the guests would be required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test to sail — despite their vaccination status.

Guests are scheduled to disembark tomorrow, and the cruise line says all unvaccinated guests will be tested today before arriving in the U.S.
“The CDC’s conditional sail order and our own protocols anticipate the potential for COVID on board,” Carnival said, “and our procedures are designed to manage and mitigate any situation.”