DeSantis against Zaandam cruise ship offloading people in Florida
The fate of passengers and crew from Holland America Line’s Zaandam cruise ship is still in question after Florida’s governor said Monday that he does not want to see them disembark in Florida.
Nearly 450 passengers from the Zaandam, 73 of them showing flu-like symptoms, hope to disembark at Port Everglades when the ship arrives to Florida’s coast as soon as Wednesday. The Broward Country Commission is set to discuss the matter Tuesday.
But twice on Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said publicly he does not want the ship in Florida. Senator Rick Scott said all passengers should be tested before they disembark.
The Zaandam, operated by Carnival Corporation’s Holland America Line, has seen four passengers die and at least two test positive for COVID-19 after being turned away from Chile on March 21. The company has been trying to find a port that will accept it since then.
The cruise was originally supposed to end in Chile, and a new cruise was scheduled to take passengers from South America to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, to arrive on April 7. More than 400 of those currently on board originally planned to ride the ship all the way to Florida.
As of Monday, 2,784 people in Miami-Dade and Broward County have tested positive for COVID-19, and 14 have died.
Speaking on Fox News Monday morning, Governor Ron DeSantis said he does not want to see people from the Zaandam get off in Florida.
“We cannot afford to have people who are not even Floridians dumped into South Florida using up those valuable resources,” DeSantis told Fox News. “We view this as a big big problem and we do not want to see people dumped in Southern Florida right now.”
Twenty-four of the passengers now aboard the Zaandam are Florida residents.
Holland America Line President Orlando Ashford said in a statement Monday that the company is dealing with a
“not my problem” syndrome from countries. All between Chile and the U.S. have turned the ship away, the company said.
“Nations are justifiably focused on the COVID-19 crisis unfolding before them,” he wrote. “But they’ve turned their backs on thousands of people left floating at sea...The COVID-19 situation is one of the most urgent tests of our common humanity. To slam the door in the face of these people betrays our deepest human values. ”
Later on Monday, at a press conference at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, DeSantis said again he does not want to see people from the Zaandam cruise ship disembark in Florida, noting that it would be “a mistake.”
He said he hopes the cruise line can arrange for medical personnel to be dispatched to the ship.
DeSantis, who said he has been in touch with the White House about the issue, said the state has “enough to deal with” among its own residents. He expects answers from the White House on Monday about whether it will order the ship to be diverted.
Senator Rick Scott said if the ship docks in Florida, everyone on board needs to be tested for COVID-19.
“The ship must be held in port while everyone is tested, and all passengers must be quarantined for 14 days, even
Passengers from the Holland America Zaandam cruise ship were transported to the Rotterdam via small ferry in Panama waters as the ships try to find a port to disembark during the coronavirus outbreak. if they are not currently showing symptoms,” he said in a statement. “The federal government and the state must also coordinate to determine which hospitals will be designated for those that require immediate attention.”
Broward County Mayor
Dale Holness said he has not been given a list of those who are on board or what their conditions are, and that “there is a lot of work that is yet to be done.”
Broward commissioners will meet Tuesday morning to discuss whether to allow the ship to dock at Port Everglades.
There are 138 U.S. citizens on the Zaandam, 24 of them Florida residents, according to a spokesperson for Holland America Line. Seventy-three of the 446 passengers on board, and 116 of the 602 crew members, have flu-like symptoms. One of the four passengers who died was a U.S. citizen; the others were from Sweden, Holland and Great Britain.
Over the weekend, 797 passengers from the Zaandam were transferred to a sister ship, the Rotterdam, which has 645 crew on board. There are 166 U.S. citizens on the Rotterdam, and 25 of them are Floridians, the company said.
Both ships made it through the Panama Canal early Monday morning and are expected to reach Florida’s coast by Wednesday. Neither has formally requested to enter PortEverglades, Broward County said, though such requests are expected soon.
Taylor Dolven: 305-376-2052, @taydolven