Cruise norovirus outbreak climbs to nearly 500 people
The number of passengers and crew members that have been sickened by a norovirus outbreak on Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas has risen to nearly 500, as the ship continues its return to Port Canaveral.
The massive cruise ship changed course Thursday, when 277 people were found having contracted norovirus, a gastrointestinal illness that causes vomiting and diarrhea and is spread through contact.
Oasis of the Seas, which is on a seven-day Western Caribbean itinerary, had to cut the trip short by a day. Passengers didn’t disembark on their second port of call, Falmouth, Jamaica, and will skip a planned stop in Cozumel, Mexico. The 6,285-passenger ship will return to Port Canaveral on Saturday.
By Friday afternoon, passengers were notified via a shipwide announcement that the number of people affected had climbed.
“You might have noticed that we are everywhere in the media when it comes to our outbreak here, which is most likely norovirus,” the announcement said, according to a video sent to the Orlando Sentinel by passenger Shawn Popeleski. “The latest that I can share with you here is that we have had a total during the cruise here somewhere around 475 people affected.”
About 100 people who are still exhibiting symptoms of norovirus are quarantined in their cabins to stop the spread of the illness.
Erica Sattler, a 22-year-old passenger from New York who is celebrating her mom’s birthday on the ship, said she and her family support the cruise line’s decision to cut the trip short.
“With so many sick people I don’t think that anyone objected to us heading straight back,” Sattler said. “We just hope that everyone gets better soon and that nobody else gets sick.”
In the meantime, the crew has been working “tirelessly” to wipe down and disinfect surfaces, she said. Royal Caribbean is giving all passengers a full refund for the inconvenience.
“The crew is handling things on the ship so well and they’re going above and beyond to take care of us and not make this a miserable time despite the circumstances,” Sattler said.
Cruise ships are required to report outbreaks of norovirus to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention any time the amount of passengers affected surpasses 2 percent of the total passenger count. The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program posts incidents on its website when the outbreaks include more than 3 percent of the passengers and crew onboard.