DFA: 370 Pinoy crew arrive from Italy as COVID-19 hits more cruise ships; 14 test positive for COVID-19 on Royal Caribbean ship, captain says. Crew unloaded in Miami

DFA: 370 Pinoy crew arrive from Italy as COVID-19 hits more cruise ships
MICHAELA DEL CALLAR March 29, 2020 https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/news/731761/dfa-370-pinoy-cr...

Some 370 Filipino sailors from three cruise liners docked in Italy arrived in the Philippines Saturday evening as coronavirus infections threaten various ships across the world.

The group of repatriates is composed of 248 Filipinos from MV Costa Luminosa from Milan, and a combined number of 122 Filipinos from MV Grandiosa and MV Opera docked in Rome, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Sunday.

They arrived via chartered flights organized by the Philippine government.

"All the 370 Filipinos underwent medical checkup and were found to be asymptomatic before they boarded the chartered airline that brought them to Manila," the DFA said in a statement.

They will also undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine at a still unknown location that will be supervised by the Bureau of Quarantine, it added.

Repatriation of Filipino crew on cruise ships has been ongoing since last month when a ship from Japan was infected by the virus that was first detected in Wuhan, China.

A small batch of 13 from Spain arrived in the country a few days ago and several more repatriations are expected in the coming weeks, said Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Ed Meñez.

"The DFA coordinates with the manning agencies, the crew and foreign authorities to quickly repatriate once there is a quarantine area identified and checked by the responsible agencies here," Meñez said.

"It is also important to note that the DFA is continuously working on sending our kababayan home - not just those on cruise ships," he added. — RSJ, GMA News

14 test positive for COVID-19 on Royal Caribbean ship, captain says. Crew unloaded in Miami
Devoun Cetoute March 29, 2020 https://www.bradenton.com/news/coronavirus/article241598366.html

Fourteen crew members aboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a recording obtained by the Miami Herald.

On Saturday, a crew member aboard the ship recorded the Oasis of the Seas’ captain making an announcement over the P.A. system that 14 people had tested positive.

“At the moment, we have 14 that have test positive for COVID-19 onboard the Oasis of the Seas out of all we have tested,” the captain said in the recording.

Royal Caribbean said in a statement: “The health and well-being of our crew is our foremost priority. Crewmembers who exhibited symptoms were evaluated by our medical staff and remain under close supervision. In accordance with our health and safety protocols, our crew have been asked to self-isolate in cabins while we await confirmation of initial results from public health authorities.”

The company did not confirm if anyone on board had tested positive.

There are more than 1,700 workers and contractors onboard the ship, the crew member said.

Although the captain did not say when the positive patients had been tested, the crew member said there were workers with flu-like symptoms aboard the ship before cruises were suspended by Royal Caribbean on March 13.

“It’s a little scary because we didn’t know there were so many cases on the ship,” the crew member said.

While the Oasis is currently docked in the Bahamas, it did make port in Miami.

PortMiami records show the Oasis docked at the port the morning of March 24 and unloaded passengers. It left port later that day.

The crew member said the ship let crew members leave to go home, but for those whose countries closed their boarders they returned. The ship then set out for the Bahamas.

The ship is now docked about 15 miles from Great Harbour Cay’s shore in the Bahamas, according to ship tracker websites. The Oasis is docked closely to five other Royal Caribbean ships and two Holland America cruises: the Zuiderdam and Volendam.

The Zaandam, another Holland America cruise ship, has had four passengers die on board and is carrying almost 150 people who are sick with flu-like symptoms. The ship was given permission late Saturday night to pass through the Panama Canal on its way to Port Everglades, where it will unload its increasingly sick passengers and crew.

Workers on the Oasis had suspected there was a positive case onboard but the captain denied it until his announcement on Saturday, the crew member said. The ship is currently under Outbreak Prevention Plan Level 3.

The plan is enacted to prevent and respond to any illness outbreaks aboard ships, according to the Royal Caribbean website.

On the recording, the captain said crew members were confined to their cabins and that getting workers into guest bedrooms was being worked on.

Masks, gloves and other protective gear had started to be handed out to those on the ship on Saturday, the crew member said.

Over the P.A. the captain said, “I ask you, again, social distancing when you are leaving your cabins to go up to eat. When you are eating, also social distancing and making sure you have the six feet or two meters between each other.”

The crew member said the ship is scheduled to return to Miami, the cruise’s home port, on March 31. But they are unsure if that schedule will be kept.