PRINCESS SHIPS & CORONA VIRUS

[ilikeanswers]

10 minutes ago, elliair said:

By sea, not by air--no airlines back then.  It took it longer by sea.  How did it make its way to the remote villages in Alaska?  No one knows.  If you look at the World's Most Lethal Pandemics, many of them point back to originating in China.  I believe that's where the Spanish flu originated.....brought back to the US by soldiers during WW1.

 

https://www.mphonline.org/worst-pandemics-in-history/

 

 

Global movement is still global movement no matter the means. Because of all the censorship it is hard to even pin point the first known case in Europe so to try and find it across the globe would be more difficult. Though from what I have read most seem to support the theory it started in America. Europe being the second most support while China is pretty way down the list. The reality is there is no way to know way to know for certain. Since we know for certain SARS origin I think I will stick with that as my learn from history argument😉.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

1 hour ago, KL Smith said:

 

 

I sure feel for those on the Diamond. It has been reported that the number of confirmed cases on the ship tripled overnight from 20 to 61. I am not a medical professional but I really wonder if it is wise to keep the pax on the ship. Surely this can't be helping the situation. I can't imagine what they are going to have to do to ensure that ship is 100% decontaminated before the next pax get on, whenever that is.

 

Thanks for the input folks.

Just wanted to clarify the statement regarding # of cases tripling overnight. 
 

There were originally 273 PAX identified to be at risk of infection due to their contact or proximity to the original patient. Of these 273 they have finally received all the test results back. The reason the numbers climbed like they did simply reflects when a batch of test came back. There are no known new transmissions of the virus onboard. 
 

Princess acted swiftly and has handled this extremely well in my view. I will happily join the Grand on March 7 and go to Hawaii. 

[Earthworm Jim]

25 minutes ago, elliair said:

If that's the case, I would self disembark myself.  I don't believe they can hold you hostage at your own expense.  Pick your poison cruiseline.  A quarantined traveler at Travis AFB walked away and the authorities said they could not hold anyone against their will.

 

From the Princess passage contract:

 

Carrier may without liability for refund, payment, compensation or credit, except as provided herein, disembark or refuse to embark You, confine You in a stateroom, quarantine You, restrain You, change Your accommodations or disembark You at any time if, in the sole opinion of Carrier, the Captain or any Doctor, You or any minor or other person in Your care during the Cruise are unfit for any reason for the Cruise, or Your presence might be detrimental to Your health, comfort or safety or that of any other person, or in the judgment of the Captain is advisable for any reason.

 

Not to mention the Japanese authorities aren't going to allow you to walk off the ship. There wouldn't be any point in having a quarantine if it was optional.

[Katyoparty]

So just FYI--the Anthem debarked all their passengers this morning in Bayonne NJ before receiving conclusive results from the CDC but are disallowing embarkation of new passengers til tomorrow because they are waiting for conclusive results from the CDC.  Makes no sense.

[caribill]

 

Officers in protective gear enter the cruise ship Diamond Princess

 

 

[moresun]

I found this unbelievable on the part of RCI and the authorities!

Edited February 7, 2020 by moresun

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

RCI released a statement to passengers scheduled to sail today to let them know that the ill passengers tested positive for Flu A. They are delaying embarkation until tomorrow which is when they should have the definitive results of the coronavirus testing from the CDC just to put the passengers minds at ease before sailing. 
 

It has been 14 days since the Chinese nationals were last in China which puts them at the end of the incubation period. I would say there is no coronavirus on the Anthem unless it is the human strain which is the most common and we have had here in the US for years. 

[KL Smith]

54 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Just wanted to clarify the statement regarding # of cases tripling overnight. 
 

There were originally 273 PAX identified to be at risk of infection due to their contact or proximity to the original patient. Of these 273 they have finally received all the test results back. The reason the numbers climbed like they did simply reflects when a batch of test came back. There are no known new transmissions of the virus onboard. 
 

Princess acted swiftly and has handled this extremely well in my view. I will happily join the Grand on March 7 and go to Hawaii. 

 

Good to know. Thanks for the clarification.

[USCcruisecrazy]

Seems to be a lot of misinformation going around, especially the idea that the coronavirus isn't as dangerous as the "normal" flu.  Fact is, the flu kills about 1 in every 1000 people that contract it.  So far, the coronavirus worldwide has killed 1 in every 49 people that have contracted it.  That makes it 20 times more likely to kill you than the normal flu.  I highly recommend you take the disease serious and avoid areas/locations/situations that could infect you.  Good luck to those traveling in potentially bad areas either by necessity or by choice.

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

RCI released a statement to passengers scheduled to sail today to let them know that the ill passengers tested positive for Flu A. They are delaying embarkation until tomorrow which is when they should have the definitive results of the coronavirus testing from the CDC just to put the passengers minds at ease before sailing. 
 

It has been 14 days since the Chinese nationals were last in China which puts them at the end of the incubation period. I would say there is no coronavirus on the Anthem unless it is the human strain which is the most common and we have had here in the US for years. 

[Kenswing]

10 minutes ago, Mrs CruisinCritter said:

RCI released a statement to passengers scheduled to sail today to let them know that the ill passengers tested positive for Flu A. They are delaying embarkation until tomorrow which is when they should have the definitive results of the coronavirus testing from the CDC just to put the passengers minds at ease before sailing. 
 

It has been 14 days since the Chinese nationals were last in China which puts them at the end of the incubation period. I would say there is no coronavirus on the Anthem unless it is the human strain which is the most common and we have had here in the US for years. 

Influenza A is starting to become a problem.  My wife works at the hospital that had the first U.S. case of the coronavirus.  That man has since been discharged.  She says they now have an entire isolation ward full with Influenza A patients and are getting ready to convert more rooms for isolation. 

 

Lots of bad stuff out there right now.. 

[pilgrimduke]

1 hour ago, elliair said:

If that's the case, I would self disembark myself.  I don't believe they can hold you hostage at your own expense.  Pick your poison cruiseline.  A quarantined traveler at Travis AFB walked away and the authorities said they could not hold anyone against their will.

Do you have a link for the Travis AFB person walking away?  I'd like to forward it, but can't find anything after a quick search.  Thanks

[matadams4u]

1 hour ago, fragilek said:

2 good and unseen points here,

Not sure about the hotel situation may be someone has come across this before.

I would be very surprised if the cruiseline charged the passengers but on the other hand if it is in their terms and conditions and Japan is calling the shots - who knows.  But I think they would be opening a can of worms as people may counter sue for being in that position especially is they had looked to cancel before but had been told no refund

I am traveling to Rome next week.  The two cases in Italy last week were staying at the hotel that was booked for me.  The tour operator moved my reservation to another hotel within 24 hours and the news reports indicated some measures were being taken with the hotel.

[kent9xxx1]

11 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

Like many comments on here. Some seem to be getting off in just spreading the gloom.

I had read that the virus does not spread through air systems, just person to person.

 

Initially did you read that the virus does not spread person to person?  Just because you read something doesn't mean it's true.  

What is true is CDC doesn't know.  It's not about fear mongering, it's treating the unknown.  You take the most precaution instead of doing whatever.  What does Japan authority know about this virus?  

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

3 minutes ago, Kenswing said:

Influenza A is starting to become a problem.  My wife works at the hospital that had the first U.S. case of the coronavirus.  That man has since been discharged.  She says they now have an entire isolation ward full with Influenza A patients and are getting ready to convert more rooms for isolation. 

 

Lots of bad stuff out there right now.. 

 

I am not surprised. It’s ravaging the East coast right now. We live in WV and they have had to close school systems in several counties throughout eastern KY, western WV, and southern OH due to Influenza A and B. Strep is also making the rounds again along with a nasty stomach bug. These are my biggest worries on a cruise ship right now when sailing out of the US. Along with the dreaded norovirus of course. Yuck! 

[fragilek]

3 minutes ago, matadams4u said:

I am traveling to Rome next week.  The two cases in Italy last week were staying at the hotel that was booked for me.  The tour operator moved my reservation to another hotel within 24 hours and the news reports indicated some measures were being taken with the hotel.

Interesting as in the UK the 1st 2 cases where staying at a hotel in York.  The hotel continued as normal with just their rooms taken out of use for deep clean.  It was very odd to see the hazmat suited people walk past some people having coffee on their phones in the entrance hall.  But it wasn't a hotel that had dining so  that one was not really a good comparison to cruise ship

Edited February 7, 2020 by fragilek

[kent9xxx1]

Japan should let all passengers and crew off the ship and quarantine them on land.   

What they are doing now is reckless, only the infected ones can get off the ship, the rest is waiting to be infected.  And eventually all will get off the ship.  What does it accomplish but making them more likely to get infected?  

[fragilek]

this picture from the ship is a little concerning

[npcl]

1 hour ago, K.T.B. said:

 

And the 12 cases in the US are, from what I've read, NOT critical.  Unlike many cases in China.

Keep in mind that this illness has a 14 day incubation time, with 75-85% cases being minor, 15-25% serious. The travel restrictions only went into effect 7 days ago.  More time is needed to see if many cases made it into the US prior to those being established.

 

Corona is following what one would expect of a new virus with its characteristics, primarily the long incubation time and the high percentage of minor cases.  Combined make this a difficult illness to stop.  Unlike SARS with its 2-7 day incubation time, and almost all cases serious and 10% fatality rate. Outbreaks like SARS are much easier to contain because almost all victims needed immediate treatment. As one person on the Diamond Princess said just before she was transported to the hospital, that she felt fine only a minor cough.

 

If this progresses one would not expect major penetration into the US yet, it might happen, but not likely yet.  Instead one can expect additional clusters of infections to pop up in asian countries outside of China.  Would not expect infection clusters to make it in the US, until after you see them in other asian countries (Thailand, Singapore as examples).

 

It might be contained to China, but with this illness's characteristics, not likely.

 

 

 

 

[dog]

4 minutes ago, kent9xxx1 said:

Japan should let all passengers and crew off the ship and quarantine them on land.   

What they are doing now is reckless, only the infected ones can get off the ship, the rest is waiting to be infected.  And eventually all will get off the ship.  What does it accomplish but making them more likely to get infected?  

That’s a lot of people to accommodate. Have you ever been to Yokohama?  Princess has to do what Japan says. 

[kent9xxx1]

Just now, dog said:

That’s a lot of people to accommodate. Have you ever been to Yokohama?  Princess has to do what Japan says. 

 

I'm not criticizing Princess.  I'm criticizing how Japan handled this.  Japan is a big country, they handled much worse crisis in the past.  

[npcl]

4 minutes ago, kent9xxx1 said:

Japan should let all passengers and crew off the ship and quarantine them on land.   

What they are doing now is reckless, only the infected ones can get off the ship, the rest is waiting to be infected.  And eventually all will get off the ship.  What does it accomplish but making them more likely to get infected?  

They are not likely to be infected.  Those that are being diagnosed now and for the rest of the quarantine contracted the illness before quarantine.  With the incubation time of 14 days those would contract it during the quarantine, would only show symptoms near the end of or after quarantine ends.  The practices that Japan is using is the same as protocols in the US.  The weakest point of the quarantine is for those that do not have balconies to be let outside 1.5 hours a day, but even there the instructions they are given, if followed, should be sufficient.

 

Under the protocols in place (keep in mind that everything being done on the ship is being supervised by quarantine monitoring personnel) the stats on new infection for everyone is pretty low.

[cruiser man 60]

24 minutes ago, Mrs CruisinCritter said:

 

I am not surprised. It’s ravaging the East coast right now. We live in WV and they have had to close school systems in several counties throughout eastern KY, western WV, and southern OH due to Influenza A and B. Strep is also making the rounds again along with a nasty stomach bug. These are my biggest worries on a cruise ship right now when sailing out of the US. Along with the dreaded norovirus of course. Yuck! 

Given the above , should everyone traveling from USA be out in quarantine for 14 days to stop the spread!!

[npcl]

21 minutes ago, kent9xxx1 said:

 

Initially did you read that the virus does not spread person to person?  Just because you read something doesn't mean it's true.  

What is true is CDC doesn't know.  It's not about fear mongering, it's treating the unknown.  You take the most precaution instead of doing whatever.  What does Japan authority know about this virus?  

The odds of spreading through ship ventilation system is pretty non-existent.  The air is drawn from the out side and blown into the rooms, creating a slightly positive pressure situation in each room. The air then goes to the hallway and exhausted from the ship.  The only way that air from one room might make to another is if someone on a balcony opens their outside door and leaves it open.  If they do that then some air from the hallway will take the lowest pressure route and pass through the balcony room to the outside.  Even with that scenario risk of infection would be quite low because of  distance of travel and the continued air flow to the outside.

[kent9xxx1]

It's good to follow protocol, but we are dealing with unknown here.  How can they guarantee that it doesn't spread from room to room?  

SARS spread through the toilet pipe connecting all the apartment units inside quarantined buildings.  Is the ship different how they do plumbing on the ship vs in apartment?