NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – Royal Caribbean Cruises said one of its ships arrived in Miami on Saturday (Dec 18) with 48 passengers and crew members positive with Covid-19 after an outbreak onboard.
Cases aboard the Symphony were identified using contact tracing after one guest tested positive.
Almost all – 98 per cent – of those who tested positive were fully vaccinated, and 95 per cent of the people onboard were fully vaccinated, the Miami-based company said in a statement on Sunday.
All guests who tested positive were asymptomatic or had “mild symptoms,” spokeswoman Lyan Sierra-Caro said. “We continuously monitored their health.”
The outbreak comes as the cruise industry tries to recover from last year’s Covid-driven shutdown and bad publicity in the early days of the pandemic after some nations refused to let exposed passengers disembark.
Royal Caribbean’s shares fell 3.2 per cent to US$70.06 (S$95.70) before the start of regular trading Monday in New York.
The stock had lost a quarter of its value since Nov 5, closing Friday at US$72.51, in part as infections once again start to surge worldwide.
No future voyages of the ship will be affected, Sierra-Caro said.
Sailing on the ship requires full vaccination and negative test results for people above age 12.
Children who aren’t vaccinated must have a prior negative test and also test negative at the terminal before boarding, the company said.
Rival Carnival Corp is due to report quarterly earnings Monday morning.
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest For Top Stories News Click Here
