Governor does not want passengers of Zaandam ‘dumped’ in Florida
FORT LAUDERDALE, United
States: Florida’s governor said Monday that he does not want passengers suspected of suffering from coronavirus on the cruise ship Zaandam to be ‘dumped’ in his southern US state.
The Holland America Line vessel passed through the Panama Canal overnight as the company searched for a port that will allow the Zaandam passengers to disembark.
“We view this as a big, big problem and we do not want to see people dumped in southern Florida right now,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told Fox News.
“I’m in contact with the White House on this.”
DeSantis later said he would like to have medical personnel dispatched to the ship, which was originally scheduled to end its cruise in the Florida city of Fort Lauderdale in early April.
“The cruise lines can hopefully arrange for that,” the governor told reporters.
“But I think a lot of these are foreign nationals, and we want to make sure we have the beds available for the folks here in southern Florida,” he said.
The Zaandam crossed the Panama Canal into the Caribbean Sea overnight after canal authorities reversed a decision to block its passage.
It was followed hours later by its sister ship, the Rotterdam, which was dispatched from San Diego to take on the Zaandam’s healthiest passengers.
Holland America said that before crossing the canal, hundreds of Zaandam passengers were transferred via “sanitized tender” to the Rotterdam.
The company said that currently 446 passengers and 602 crew members were aboard the Zaandam, while 797 passengers and 645 crew were on the Rotterdam.
It said 73 passengers and 116 crew members on the Zaandam have reported influenza-like symptoms. Four deaths have been reported among the ship’s passengers.
Passengers have been selfisolating on the Zaandam since March 22, Holland America said.
The Zaandam had been stuck in the Pacific since March 14 after dozens of people board fell sick, and several South American ports refused to let it dock.