Skip to main content

New story in Health from Time: Cruise Ship Carrying Over 6,000 People Denied Entry to Jamaica and Cayman Islands Amid Coronavirus Fears 



A cruise ship from the Miami-based cruise line MSC Cruises has been denied entry to the Cayman Islands and Jamaica amid fears of the novel coronavirus.

The MSC Meraviglia from was blocked from entering the port in Ochos Rios, Jamaica on Tuesday, health officials said. The ship, carrying more than 4,500 passengers and over 1,600 crew members on a 14-day cruise of the Caribbean, was denied entry after health officials found that one crew member, reporting flu-like symptoms, had been placed in isolation.

“The crew member had a cough, fever and associated muscle pains with a travel history to a country of interest relating to the COVID-19,” read a statement from Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness.

After being blocked from docking in Jamaica, the ship was also denied a scheduled entry on Wednesday in Grand Cayman out of “an abundance of caution,” from the Cayman Islands’ health officials.

“In order to provide protection to the health and safety of the residents of the Cayman Islands, the Government denied permission for the cruise ship to call on Grand Cayman as previously scheduled,” health minister Dwayne Seymour said in a statement.

MSC Cruises criticized the decisions by both countries in a statement to TIME, saying authorities in Jamaica and Grand Cayman did not properly review medical records provided by the cruise line. “In both instances, the ship was effectively turned away simply based on fears,” the statement read.

According to MSC Cruises, the ship’s medical records showed one case of influenza, which affected a crew member who had traveled to Miami from Manila, Philippines via Istanbul. The crew member tested positive for Type A influenza after visiting the ship’s medical center while already aboard. MSC Cruises said it is standard practice to report any illnesses on board to relevant local health authorities. According to the cruise line, the crew member embarked on the cruise after passing a mandatory health screening given to all passengers on the ship.

“He has no other symptoms,” MSC Cruises said.

The ship is now en route to its next port of call in Cozumel, Mexico, where it is expected to dock on Wednesday night. The ship’s command and MSC Cruises management are in touch with local health authorities “to ensure that their decision will be based on a factual review of the ship’s medical records,” according to the statement. No coronavirus cases have been reported or confirmed in Mexico.

A passenger aboard MSC Meraviglia, who asked not to be identified, told TIME that some people on the ship seem worried, but aren’t yet panicked. Passengers are trying to get more information about future stops and are continuing to gather in the ship’s common areas.

“Life is normal at the pool side,” the passenger said. “We have not been asked to stay in the rooms.”

In a note to passengers shared with TIME, the ship’s captain apologized for the voyage’s itinerary changes and any related “inconvenience,.” The note added that MSC would be providing refunds for missed excursions in Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman, along with a $200 on board credit per stateroom.

MSC Meraviglia is the latest cruise ship to get caught up in fears over the spread of the coronavirus, which has quickly surged in case numbers outside of mainland China, where the viral infection originated. Following rumors that a passenger on Holland America Line’s Westerdam cruise ship had coronavirus, the ship was denied entry at five different ports earlier in February, before passengers were allowed to disembark in Cambodia.

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

New story in Health from Time: Here’s How Quickly Coronavirus Is Spreading in Your State

The novel coronavirus pandemic is a global crisis, a national emergency and a local nightmare. But while a great deal of the focus in the U.S. has been on the federal government’s response, widely criticized as slow and halting , the picture on the ground remains very different in different parts of the country. A TIME analysis of the per capita spread of the epidemic in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. found considerable range in the rate of contagion, and, in some parts of the country, a significant disparity compared to the national figure. The U.S., unlike nations such as South Korea and now Italy , has yet to show signs of bringing the runaway spread of the virus under control. However, while no single state is yet showing strong signs of bending the curve , some are faring much worse than others. The following graphic plots the rise in the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents in each state, plotted by the day that each state reported its first case.
Read more

New story in Health from Time: We Need to Take Care of the Growing Number of Long-term COVID-19 Patients

On July 7, 2020, the Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez tested positive for the new coronavirus. He was scheduled to start Opening Day for the Sox, but the virus had other plans— damaging Rodriguez’s heart and causing a condition called myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle). Now the previously fit 27-year old ace left-hander must sit out the 2020 season to recover. Rodriguez is not alone in having heart damage from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In a new study done in Germany, researchers studied the hearts of 100 patients who had recently recovered from COVID-19. The findings were alarming: 78 patients had heart abnormalities, as shown by a special kind of imaging test that shows the heart’s structure (a cardiac MRI), and 60 had myocarditis. These patients were mostly young and previously healthy . Several had just returned from ski trips. While other studies have shown a lower rate of heart problems—for example, a study of 416 patients hosp
Read more

New story in Health from Time: U.S. Inmates ‘Mistakenly’ Received COVID-19 Stimulus Checks. Now, the IRS Wants That Money Back

(BOISE, Idaho) — Hundreds of thousands of dollars in coronavirus relief payments have been sent to people incarcerated across the United States, and now the IRS is asking state officials to help claw back the cash that the federal tax agency says was mistakenly sent. The legislation authorizing the payments during the pandemic doesn’t specifically exclude jail or prison inmates, and the IRS has refused to say exactly what legal authority it has to retrieve the money. On its website, it points to the unrelated Social Security Act, which bars incarcerated people from receiving some types of old-age and survivor insurance benefit payments. “I can’t give you the legal basis. All I can tell you is this is the language the Treasury and ourselves have been using,” IRS spokesman Eric Smith said. “It’s just the same list as in the Social Security Act.” Read more: ‘A Double Whammy.’ Those Who Most Need The $1,200 Stimulus Checks May Wait the Longest To Get Them Tax attorney Kell
Read more