Mexican officials turned down a cruise ship scheduled to stop at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with 21 employees who tested positive for COVID-19, and it's expected to return to San Diego.
The cruise ship named Koningsdam, operated by Holland America, tested employees for COVID-19 on Dec.23, whose results came back positive. A seven-day tour of the Mexican Rivera was scheduled for the 974-foot 13-deck ship that left San Diego to visit Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan before arriving in Puerto Vallarta.
According to Mexico's Ministry of Health, only one positive test was found among the fully vaccinated crew before the ship departed Dec. 19 from San Diego. The ship had stopped at Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan before more active cases were detected onboard Dec. 23.
Spokesperson of Holland America said a small number of the cruise ship's employees, who were fully vaccinated, tested positive for the virus with mild symptoms. The cruise line said they were isolated, and their close contacts were quarantined.
Mexican authorities turned down the cruise ship due to the virus outbreak. Koningsdam's 1,000-plus passengers disembark, causing the ship to leave port and reverse course for San Diego, only having two days of travel scheduled at sea after leaving Puerto Vallarta.
"Due to a last-minute notification from authorities that guests would not be permitted ashore, the ship departed and will return to San Diego to arrive in two days as scheduled," Holland America said in a statement." Guests were notified and continue to enjoy activities aboard the vessel."
ACCORDING TO HOLLAND AMERICA, all COVID protocols, including mask-wearing by guests and staff indoors, routine disinfecting, and full vaccination of patrons and staff, were all required to board cruise ships. Additionally, all people were required to provide a negative COVID-19 test before being allowed to board ships.
After a lengthy pandemic pause, ocean cruises resumed in San Diego County in October.
Federal health officials have warned about the highly contagious omicron variant which surges across the country. Those reported to have been infected by the virus have been vaccinated with at least one dose of the vaccine.
A similar case of an undisclosed number of crew and passengers aboard the Florida-based Carnival Freedom cruise ship had an outbreak for the third time this week. Carnival said in a statement they were denied entry from Bonaire and Aruba.
Carnival said all passengers of the ship were required to be fully vaccinated, and they were tested for the virus before leaving for an eight-day cruise. The ship was scheduled to return to Miami on Sunday.
