Three Dominicans are onboard the Costa Favolosa cruise ship. The Dominicans have appealed for help from the Ministry of Foreign Relations and the Dominican Port Authority. They understand they should not have been allowed to board the ship in La Romana. They purchased a cruise along with 26 other Dominicans. The cruise would have taken them from 9 March to visit Catalina Island, Martinique and Guadeloupe in the southern Caribbean.
Cesar Duvernay, director of communications for Mirex told Noticias SIN that the cruise ship is seeking a port to disembark its passengers. Duvernay said that the passengers paid a fare and thus the responsibility is of the cruise ship company.
As of 17 March, the Costa Favolosa had moored in Guadeloupe waters. There are at least nine confirmed COVID-19 cases aboard.
Yesterday it was reported that the 26 Dominicans on board the Costa Favolosa cruise would arrive on three separate flights to the Dominican Republic on 18 March. They will then be subject to 14-day self-quarantines.
Large number of people in confined spaces on cruise ships make onboard tourists prone to infectious diseases such as the coronavirus. In 2019 alone, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported ten outbreaks on cruise ships.
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Noticias SIN
Ship Technology
Trinidad Express
News 784
18 March 2020