Last Friday, December 2nd, a variety of newspapers within the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) reported on the COVID-19-related demise of a cruise passenger in St. Thomas.
The Virgin Islands Consortium reported that “a critically ailing cruise ship passenger wanted emergency care shortly earlier than arriving in St. Thomas. Upon arrival the person was taken to the Schneider Regional Medical Center however later succumbed to the sickness.
The newspaper additional reported that the cruise visitor was transported to the hospital from the WICO (West Indies dock) dock on November, 29.
Cruise Ship Passenger Dies of COVID-19 After Hospitalization on STT
None of the newspapers disclosed which cruise ship the contaminated visitor arrived on, nor the variety of contaminated passengers or crew members on the cruise ship. No cruise line, after all, admitted to the an infection resulting in the demise of their buyer through the cruise.
It seems that three cruise ships known as on St. Thomas (and ported on the WICO facility) on November twenty ninth: NCL’s Norwegian Escape (picture proper), Princess Cruises’ Sky Princess (picture beneath) and Silversea Cruises’ Silver Moon.
NCL lifted its ban on unvaccinated passengers in early September with NCL CEO Del Rio touting that easing vaccine and testing protocols would “expand the addressable cruise market.” All different cruise strains relaxed their vaccination and testing necessities as effectively. Not surprisingly, cruise ships crusing to the Caribbean with 3,000 to 4,000 passengers sometimes have a median of a number of hundred passengers contaminated with COVID-19. With over 8,000 folks doubtlessly ashore on 
November twenty ninth, there have been undoubtedly many cruise contaminated company who visited the island.
The actual variety of contaminated cruise company / crew members on the Norwegian Escape (4,248 company), Sky Princess (3,560 company), and Silver Moon (596 company) when these cruise ships arrived in St. Thomas on November twenty ninth is just not publicly recognized.
The U.S. Virgin Islands, which has a relatively low demise complete due COVID-19 of simply 125, made some extent of stressing that the useless cruise visitor was not contaminated within the territory and due to this fact wouldn’t be included within the official COVID statistics.
It was only a yr in the past that the Disney Fantasy known as on the West Indies Co. dock in St. Thomas however the port authority didn’t allow anybody to disembark as a result of there have been constructive COVID-19 circumstances aboard the cruise ship. As of March of this yr, the Virgin Islands well being fee didn’t allow cruise ships, with lively COVID circumstances exceeding a 3% threshold, to disembark within the islands (cruise strains had been requesting a 4 p.c an infection fee).
The St. Thomas Source lined this newest story, writing “the latest death is a reminder that the COVID-19 virus remains a threat despite the relaxation of masking and distancing mandates, and the department continues to encourage the public to become fully vaccinated and boosted.”
Have a remark or query? Please depart one beneath or be part of the dialogue on our Facebook web page.
Photo credit score: St. Thomas Source “125th COVID-Related Death Confirmed by Health Department;” Norwegian Escape – kees torn – SA 2.0 commons / wikimedia; Sky Princess antonio -, CC BY 2.0 commons / wikimedia.