Four passengers have died on Zaandam cruise ship with 148 people sick with flu-like symptoms

[Mrs. Overall]

Source: Miami Herald

Four passengers have died aboard the Zaandam as it awaits permission to transit the Panama Canal.

Almost 150 people are sick with flu-like symptoms, according to a release from Seattle-based Holland America cruise line. It is owned by Miami-based Carnival Corp.

The captain announced the deaths to passengers and crew Friday afternoon. He also stated the company planned to evacuate hundreds of healthy passengers to a sister ship anchored nearby.

The ship originally left Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 7 with 1,243 passengers and 586 crew on board. It has been anchored off the coast of Panama awaiting permission to pass through the canal and hopes to dock in Port Everglades.

Read more: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article241559956.html

[hlthe2b]

1. Cruises ceased to be attractive to me decades ago with all the norovirus outbreaks...

That would be miserable enough, but rarely deadly.

It sounds like a good time, but damn, when you realize you are TRAPPED, I have to wonder how many will think so in the future.

[jberryhill]

2. It left on March 7?

Good golly. That was when we were making sure we had what we’d need for a while.

[Igel]

5. It left Buenos Aires on March 7.

By then there were a handful of deaths in Washington state, a small smattering of cases around the country (with weak testing, but they were still taking "containment.&quot First US death was 2/29.

Factor in time to travel to Argentina, likelihood that a lot of people would want to check out Argentina before hopping on the ship, and there was a lot of talk about *possible* threats but not much claiming, "This shall happen and we can't stop it."

[BusyBeingBest]

3. So it's slowly turning into a floating morgue.

Hope they have somewhere refrigerated (and not food storage) to place the deceased. Have no idea why people, as late as March 7th, would board a cruise ship--even if they thought it was their ride home.

[luvtheGWN]

6. I have two relatives on that ship.

I said the same thing (about, not to) them, but they're both over 80, quite wealthy and it was on their bucket list. Of course their children are worried sick, as we all are. Sometimes people don't realize how their actions/decisions affect those who love them the most.

[BusyBeingBest]

7. Sorry to hear that--I hope they're going to be ok.

[ancianita]

4. The owner of Carnival, which owns this ship, is Mickey Arison, big time buddy of Trump who will

be giving him our tax money out of this latest bill.

[herding cats]

8. The cruise industry is cut out of the bill.

Cruise lines, early source of coronavirus infections, out of bailout package

Like hotels and airlines, cruise companies have seen their business decimated by the coronavirus pandemic and economic shutdowns.

But unlike those industries, major cruise operators don’t locate their headquarters in the United States, so they will not have access to $500 billion in aid for large employers in the massive stimulus bill, the industry’s trade group said Thursday.

Language in the 883-page bill passed by the Senate says that to be eligible for aid from the $500 billion fund, companies must be certified as “created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States” as well as having “significant operations in” and a majority of employees based in the United States.

Major cruise companies have located their primary headquarters overseas, which for years has allowed them to pay almost no federal taxes and avoid some U.S. regulations. To staff their ships, the companies rely heavily on foreign workers from the Philippines, Indonesia and India.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/26/cruise-line-bailout/

[ancianita]

14. Great news. Hope you're right, though that elegibility clause could very well apply to Carnival,

which is based in the Port of Miami and headquartered in nearby Doral, FL, no matter its flags of convenience.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_Cruise_Line


Thanks for the info. We both know, however, that IF45 isn't one to keep $ where it belongs once he's got access to it through Mnuchin.

[mcar]

9. MSNBC reporter in Miami talked to a couple on board

Floridians. They left Mar. 6 for the cruise because Gov. DeSantis and IMPOTUS said everything was going to be fine.

[flibbitygiblets]

10. A week ago Trumpy said Micky A from Carnival would be bringing ships to use as HOSPITALS

Anyone remember that? He specifically mentioned LA, SF and NYC.

FYI the Diamond Princess was found to have CV 17 days after people disembarked, according to the CDC https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2020/03/24/coronavirus-diamond-princess-cabin-surfaces-contaminated-cdc-report/2905924001/

[kimbutgar]

12. I am looking out from my deck in SF and the Diamond Princess is anchored in the middle of the bay

I have observed during the quarantine, boats near the ship bringing in supplies.

And there are increasing amounts of container ships just anchored in the bay. I guess they won’t let the crew off those ships.

[NickB79]

11. Plague ship.

[Lonestarblue]

13. Someone needs to get those people off that ship ASAP.

Are they American citizens? Why isn’t FEMA setting up a quarantined location and getting those people off the ship? I’m sure there are few medical facilities onboard.

[Warpy]

15. I looked into this as an alternative to assisted living

a couple of years ago because it was cheaper and looked to be more interesting, with occasional ports of call to liven things up a bit. There was too much enforced socializing and gaiety for me, so I bagged the idea. I'm glad I did now.

I think this is why cruise ship death tolls are abnormally high, cruise ship retirements started to be a thing about a year and a half ago, just about the time I abandoned the idea.

[Ms. Toad]

16. My friend - now on the Rotterdam

has asked for pressure on DeSantis to let them (Zaandam and Rotterdam) dock in Florida:

The governor doesn’t want us to land and we are trying to get pressure on him to let us in. He is calling all of us including over 300 US Citizens “foreigners”. Epecially if you live or winter there , please write to the governor DeSantis.

His email address if you want to add to the pressure.

My friend was moved from the Zaandan to the Rotterdam a couple of days ago (they moved the older, inside, healthy individuals). She was in good spirits until close to the time they moved her to the Rotterdam, but she has been finding it increasingly challenging.