The Braemar cruise ship of the Fred Olsen cruise line, which for years has made regular stops in La Romana and Santo Domingo, was ordered to leave Dominican territorial waters. Following international protocols, Dominican medical personnel boarded the ship and ascertained on board were eight persons with flu-like symptoms. The medics said there is reason to suspect this could be the coronavirus Covid-19. The captain of the ship had reported on board were persons with flu symptoms. Among the sick persons were four Filipinos, 2 British and two Americans.
The executive director of the Dominican Port Authority, Victor Gómez Casanova, said that the ship was not allowed to disembark after arriving to La Romana on 27 February. The ship would have traveled to Santo Domingo for a second stop in the Dominican Republic on its Caribbean cruise. On board the ship were 1,512 persons (1,128 passengers and 384 crew).
Casasnova says that the President of the Republic Danilo Medina, Tourism Minister Francisco Javier García, and Public Health Minister Rafael Augusto Sanchez Cardenas were notified of the decision. Casanova explained that the protocol requires for the ship to present a health certificate for each passenger.
Braemar current cruise was for 14 days, one-way from Bridgetown to La Romana. The itinerary had begun on 13 February and ended on 27 February 2020.
The ship is handled by Maritima Dominicana in the Dominican Republic.
Read more:
Hoy
Hoy
Listin Diario
Z101
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
Z101
Cruisemapper
28 February 2020