Royal Caribbean has announced the presence of 48 cases of COVID-19 on one of their cruise trips. The ship in question, Symphony of the Seas, primarily carried vaccinated passengers.
At the pandemic’s beginning, cruise ships were common locations for superspreader events. With that in mind, many people have felt reluctant about getting back to the seas.
Unlike the earliest cruise passengers to get COVID-19, recent passengers with the illness were not stranded on board while docked.
However, some passengers say that the cruise company and its employees handled the situation poorly.
Though a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said that all passengers with COVID-19 were asymptomatic, not everyone who was there agreed.
Two passengers from Orlando have stated that their aunt had a bad cough and felt severely sick. Additionally, they said that she had to wait hours to get tested.
Those passengers also stated that their aunt was offered nothing more than oxygen and temperature monitoring. Many who were on board believe that the staff was too overwhelmed to handle so many cases.
The ship had more than 6,000 passengers, meaning the 48 cases of COVID-19 affected only 0.72% of them. Nonetheless, it’s concerning that 98% of those cases occurred in vaccinated individuals.
Among everyone on board, there was a 95% vaccination rate. The last 5% was made up of children under 12, who were not required to be vaccinated.
Children were only required to get tested.
Symphony of the Seas’ current home port is in Miami, Florida. Despite the onboard outbreak of COVID-19, Royal Caribbean has stated that the ship’s future schedule has not changed.
Royal Caribbean isn’t the only cruise line that’s seen multiple COVID-19 cases on board. Seventeen cases were detected on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship.