4 passengers dead aboard isolated cruise ship
PANAMA CITY — Four passengers have died aboard a cruise ship now anchored off the coast of Panama and two people aboard the ship have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the cruise line said Friday, with hundreds of passengers unsure how long they will remain at sea.
Global Affairs Canada says it is aware of 248 Canadians on the ship — 247 passengers and one crew member.
Holland America Line confirmed Canadians are not among the four dead.
GAC says it is actively monitoring the situation and has contacted the Canadians on board to provide information on how they can protect themselves. GAC adds it is talking with Panama’s government and working with Holland America on getting Canadians home.
Holland America Line said in a post on its Facebook page more than 130 people aboard the Zaandam had reported flu-like symptoms. It did not identify the cause of deaths.
The ship, which had been denied passage through the Panama Canal and had been turned away from other ports, was receiving medical supplies and medical personnel from another Holland America ship, the Rotterdam, and the company planned to begin transferring healthy passengers to that ship.
“Priority for the first guests to transfer will be given to those on Zaandam with inside staterooms and who are over 70,” the statement said. There are 1,243 guests and 586 crew on board the Zaandam.
The Zaandam departed Buenos Aires on March 7. The ship was trying to get to Florida after being denied permission to dock at its original destination in Chile a week ago. The cruise line said no one had been off the ship since March 14 in Punta Arenas, Chile.
On March 22, when a number of passengers began reporting flu-like symptoms, the ship instituted protective measures, including telling everyone to self-isolate in their cabins, the cruise line said. On Thursday, all passengers and crew received masks and instruction on how to use them.
Neil Bedford said his parents, Kim and Chris Bedford from England, left March 4 for a flight to Argentina and boarded the ship March 7.
“They were enjoying their time,” he told The Associated Press. But on March 15, the captain announced the cruise was over and they were turned away from several countries.
“The meals are delivered to their rooms three times during the day. … The captain is making announcements once a day, but everyone seems to be getting frustrated as it’s constantly bad news,” he said.
His parents are both in their 60s.
“They are just growing increasingly concerned with what will happen to them,” he said. “There is a new ship alongside them, the Rotterdam, which the healthy will be evacuated to, but they will need testing first before that can happen. They are becoming terrified of being stuck onboard the ship.”
Panama’s maritime authority administrator Noriel Arauz said Friday the ships were authorized to manoeuvre, but no one would be allowed ashore.
It was not immediately clear where either ship would dock.
There are four doctors and four nurses on the Zaandam, according to a cruise line statement, while the Rotterdam had two doctors and four nurses aboard.
Holland America Line had announced March 17 it was voluntarily suspending its cruise operations for 30 days “due to the continued port closures and travel restrictions surrounding COVID-19 and in an abundance of caution.” At that point, the company said none of its passengers or crew had tested positive for the virus.