four passengers die on the Zaandam

[jeanlyon]

Four elderly passengers have died of coronavirus on a cruise ship docked off the coast of Panama.

The MS Zaandam has been denied entry to several South American ports.

In a statement, cruise operator Holland America confirmed four people had passed away.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and we are doing everything we can to support them during this difficult time," the company said.

A total of 53 guests (4%) and 85 crew (14%) have reported to the ship's medical centre with flu-like symptoms, the company said.

There are 1,243 guests and 586 crew on board.

Rose and Rich Harper, from Portland, Dorset, told the BBC the had been confined for several days.

"On Wednesday it was our first day out. We were allowed out of the cabin on to the deck for just 30 minutes.

"Everything is like Groundhog Day at the moment.

[glittergal1]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

Four elderly passengers have died of coronavirus on a cruise ship docked off the coast of Panama.

The MS Zaandam has been denied entry to several South American ports.

In a statement, cruise operator Holland America confirmed four people had passed away.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and we are doing everything we can to support them during this difficult time," the company said.

A total of 53 guests (4%) and 85 crew (14%) have reported to the ship's medical centre with flu-like symptoms, the company said.

There are 1,243 guests and 586 crew on board.

Rose and Rich Harper, from Portland, Dorset, told the BBC the had been confined for several days.

"On Wednesday it was our first day out. We were allowed out of the cabin on to the deck for just 30 minutes.

"Everything is like Groundhog Day at the moment.

do they know they died from Corona ? 

[glittergal1]

it is a bit worrying the high  % of the Crew who are ill especially as  I am presuming  for the past Month since early February they have been using enhanced Hygiene measures for both staff and passengers 

[Captain_Morgan]

Bit presumptive to say they died as a result of Corona given there's no test kits onboard, and if they do have them they would have been delivered yesterday as part of a ship to ship transfer with one of their other company ships.  of course its the first thing that comes to mind and I won't be the least bit surprised if the results come back as positive for all 'flu like' cases being reported, but until the facts come out I think it best not to jump to conclusions.

[tring]

33 minutes ago, Captain_Morgan said:

Bit presumptive to say they died as a result of Corona given there's no test kits onboard, and if they do have them they would have been delivered yesterday as part of a ship to ship transfer with one of their other company ships.  of course its the first thing that comes to mind and I won't be the least bit surprised if the results come back as positive for all 'flu like' cases being reported, but until the facts come out I think it best not to jump to conclusions.

 

Any testing that can be done on the ship would only be taking the samples as I understand it.  I worked in biological research and the system used to analyse the samples is only something you would get in a specialist laboratory.  I have not heard of anything that can just be done and the result read out from a "nice little gadget".  I very much doubt they could do anymore than take the sample on board and even that may need to be done by a trained professional.  It seems a doctor was airlifted on to Arcadia recently from the Durban area, but they had to wait for the results, so presumably they would have to have sent the samples ashore, but a country would need to be prepared for samples to be sent ashore and also have the facilities to analyse them.

 

About  a month ago I had read that presumptive results were being done locally and then they all had to be sent to one place in the UK, (I think it may have been Porton Down), to confirm the results.  UK may have moved on since then, but definitely not something that could be done in a normal medical centre on a cruise ship.

 

I agree we cannot assume the deaths were caused by the virus, but sounds fairly likely if a number of people have become ill.  

Edited March 27, 2020 by tring

[tring]

41 minutes ago, glittergal1 said:

it is a bit worrying the high  % of the Crew who are ill especially as  I am presuming  for the past Month since early February they have been using enhanced Hygiene measures for both staff and passengers 

 

The crew live in much more crowded conditions and crew working in the restaurants and cabin staff will be sharing with 3 other staff in their cabin.  Also all eating in the crew mess, rather than relatively up market passenger facilities.  I agree it is worrying as they are cooking and serving food/drinks to the passengers, but it is not surprising.  That is presumably why confining passengers to cabins will just not work.  It is also very worrying that the crew could suffer in this way, though as most are relatively young and healthy they may not suffer the serious illness.  Also means many could have the mild or symptom less infection that is talked about in the UK updates, hence infect others without even knowing they have the virus themselves.  

Edited March 27, 2020 by tring

[P&O SUE]

How awful.

[Britboys]

I have known something about this for a little while now as a friend is (with permission) sharing a blog from a friend of his on board.  A very worrying time for all on board and of course their loved ones at home.  Communication from the Captain has been very good and all pax are being treated extremely well.  Pax transfer to the Rotterdam sounds imminent and they are prioritising those on health, age and those occupying inside cabins.

[puppycanducruise]

Sending prayers to everyone involved.

[majortom10]

This, as of this morning, not been confirmed according to BBC website as the deaths due to Coronavirus. Even though it is highly likely that it might be the case we should not be spreading as yet unconfirmed reports based on hearsay and self beliefs as they can often be wrong. There is so much misinformation and incorrect info being put about all over the internet.

[SeaDog-46]

In news from Florida - 2 of the 4 died of Covid-19,  1 had a heart attack & 4th of a pre existing condition.

26 passengers with positive covid virus will remain on Zaandam.

13 pax & 1 crew have been admitted to hospital.

About 1200 passengers are on their way home.

[Britboys]

The British pax that were on Zaandam are now in the air on their way to London.

[Thejuggler]

I've just spoken to someone who arrived back on Saturday.

 

The whole thing was a psychological nightmare,  they don't know if they have the virus, both have coughs, but no other symptoms. They are now in self isolation for two weeks.

 

One place they stopped was Falklands and the first case has just been reported on the islands.

 

They have no complaints about how Holland America handled the situation.

 

 

[P&O SUE]

4 minutes ago, Thejuggler said:

I've just spoken to someone who arrived back on Saturday.

 

The whole thing was a psychological nightmare,  they don't know if they have the virus, both have coughs, but no other symptoms. They are now in self isolation for two weeks.

 

One place they stopped was Falklands and the first case has just been reported on the islands.

 

They have no complaints about how Holland America handled the situation.

 

 

Thank you for the update. It’s stories like this that make me nervous to go on a cruise too soon even though I want my cruise fix! 
Glad they’re home and have no complaints about Holland America.