As the more transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, more cruise ships are experiencing an uptick in positive cases among their passengers and crew.
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Monday the agency is investigating potential outbreaks of the virus on 68 cruise ships, according to Reuters.
The news comes shortly after a handful of U.S. cruise ships have reported outbreaks of virus resulting in them being denied entry into foreign ports.
Earlier this month, at least four ships were turned away from foreign ports after COVID-19 cases were detected on board, according to ABC News. Last Thursday, Holland America’s Line ship the MS Koningsdam was turned away from Puerto Vallarta after 21 crew members tested positive for the virus.
Officials in the Mexican state of Jalisco, where Puerto Vallarta is located, were initially going to allow passengers who tested negative for the virus to disembark, but changed their minds citing “exponential growth of confirmed cases in the crew,” according to CNN.
The ship launched from San Diego on Dec. 19 with more than 1,000 passengers and 870 crew members and stopped in Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlán before arriving in Puerto Vallarta.
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A Carnival cruise ship became the third ship denied entry into a foreign port after it was turned away at Bonaire and Aruba last Wednesday and Thursday. Carnival Cruise Line told The Hill that a “small number” of the ship’s 2,497 passengers were isolated after a person tested positive for the virus.
Earlier that same week, Royal Caribbean revealed that 55 vaccinated crew members and passengers on its ship the Odyssey of the Seas tested positive for the virus, and 48 passengers and crew members tested positive on a second ship, the Symphony of the Seas, the week prior.
Cruise ship sailing was paused due to the pandemic but resumed in June. During the first four months of the industry’s return, more than 1,300 cases of COVID-19 were found on cruise ships, according to the CDC.
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