What was supposed to be a relaxing vacation turned into an absolute nightmare when healthy people were kept on a cruise ship with passengers who had contracted the coronavirus.
From a botched “quarantine” to mixing infected and healthy people together, everything that could go wrong did.
And even though passengers are now back in the US, the chaos continues and uncertainty remains.
The Deadly Decision
Proud American Traveler previously reported on the cruise ship nightmare where passengers aboard the Diamond Princess were essentially kept in an incubator that led to the Coronavirus spreading like wildfire.
When it was determined one man had the coronavirus and had spread it to 10 other people, officials should have worked to protect healthy passengers—but they didn’t.
Instead, they decided to keep the infected people (including workers serving food to passengers) aboard the ship and issue a “quarantine.”
But this 14-day quarantine included poor air circulation – which spread the virus to those who were healthy – and as passengers panicked and begged to be rescued, crew workers rationed water and medicine to those aboard.
People were forced to stay in their rooms, causing them to feel confused and angry as no one seemed to know what was happening.
The decision to keep passengers onboard the ship has resulted in more than 700 now testing positive for the coronavirus.
So where are they now?
Blatant Disregard For Human Life
The US finally made the decision to evacuate more than 300 people from Japan on two State Department chartered planes. All passengers were put on a bus together and transported to the airport.
Sounds good, right?
Except passengers were told no one with the coronavirus was on the plane…
… so since they were wearing masks, some took them off to eat or drink, thinking they were safe.
But as it turns out, a major argument took place between the State Department and CDC when it was revealed that some of the evacuees actually did have the coronavirus.
The CDC thought it was a bad idea to allow the infected passengers to fly back to the US with the healthy passengers, but lost the battle.
Without the passengers knowing, a decision was made to put 14 people who had tested positive for the virus on the same plane as those who did not – after having them all ride together on a bus with sick people coughing everywhere.
Naturally, once people found out they had been lied to, they were deeply upset.
The Washington Post reported:
Mendizabal, the retired nurse, said she learned about the infections only when she landed at Travis Air Force Base in California and talked to one of her five children, who had seen a news report.
“We were upset that people were knowingly put on the plane who were positive,” she said Wednesday in an interview from the military base. She said she and her husband had already completed 12 days of quarantine on the ship and both were healthy.
“I think those people should not have been allowed on the plane,” Mendizabal said. “They should have been transferred to medical facilities in Japan. We feel we were re-exposed. We were very upset about that.”
More Quarantine
As of today, 45 Americans who were aboard the Princes Diamond have contracted the coronavirus.
Once on US soil, the passengers had to undergo another two-week quarantine in either Lackland Air Force Base in Texas or Travis Air Force Base in California.
Most have been released, but some are still quarantined.
Even more scary, one woman was released who “showed no symptoms”…
…but then later tested positive for the virus.
Travel Chaos Continues
As it currently stands, the virus has killed 3,200 people and more than 92,000 people are infected all over the world.
And CNN has reported that two California residents have now tested positive for the coronavirus that were recently aboard a different cruise ship.
Major events are being canceled all around the world.
And it’s not just a fear of China. Italy is closing schools due to more than 3,000 coronavirus cases in the country.
Until things calm down a bit, it might be wise to avoid cruises or traveling overseas.
In fact, cruise lines admit they’re already feeling the impact of the coronavirus.
The Wall Street Journal reported:
“Two big cruise operators said ships in the Mediterranean are now about 60% full, down from about 75% at this time last year. The Asian cruise market has dried up, with the big three operators—Carnival, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.—expected to lose more than $550 million this year in the region, according to industry executives.
A small Japanese cruise operator, Luminous Cruise, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, citing cancellations stemming from the virus.”
Proud American Traveler will continue to keep you updated on the coronavirus’ impact on travel around the globe.
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