Washington Post article -- "The Pandemic at Sea"

[DaveSJ711]

This article appeared in today's Washington Post -- highly recommended.  It looks at how the cruise industry dealt with COVID, starting with the outbreak on the Diamond Princess and continuing through the other well-publicized debacles.  (If you're up against the Post's paywall, you can sign up to read a limited number of articles for free -- including this one.)  https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/cruise-ships-coronavirus/?itid=hp_hp-top-table-high_cruisefallout-1020am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

 

 

 

 

[Squawkman]

12 minutes ago, DaveSJ711 said:

This article appeared in today's Washington Post -- highly recommended.  It looks at how the cruise industry dealt with COVID, starting with the outbreak on the Diamond Princess and continuing through the other well-publicized debacles.  (If you're up against the Post's paywall, you can sign up to read a limited number of articles for free -- including this one.)  https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/cruise-ships-coronavirus/?itid=hp_hp-top-table-high_cruisefallout-1020am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

 

 

Agree - definitely a must-read. I believe all WAPO articles regarding Covid are free with no limit.

 

Notice no mention of anything Viking in the article.

[DaveSJ711]

1 hour ago, Squawkman said:

 

Notice no mention of anything Viking in the article.

 

Compared to the big lines, Viking benefited from fewer boats at sea, smaller boats, and smaller numbers of passengers.  And on our recent Valparaiso-Buenos Aires cruise, the crew kept the Jupiter absolutely, spotlessly clean.  All of these factors helped Viking avoid an outbreak.

 

Viking also got lucky.  We all know, now, that people with COVID can be completely asymptomatic.  But that wasn't common knowledge back in late February.  A passenger with COVID, but asymptomatic, could have easily embarked the Jupiter in Valparaiso.  Neither the Viking health questionnaire nor the pre-boarding temperature testing would have raised a red flag.  Once on board, that passenger would have mingled with hundreds of other people over the next 17 days.  You know the rest of the story.

 

Fortunately for the rest of us, a COVID-infected but asymptomatic passenger didn't board the ship (to my knowledge).  Again, we were lucky. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2020 by DaveSJ711

[rbslos18]

2 hours ago, DaveSJ711 said:

“A passenger with COVID, but asymptomatic, could have easily embarked the Jupiter in Valparaiso.  Neither the Viking health questionnaire nor the pre-boarding temperature testing would have raised a red flag.  Once on board, that passenger would have mingled with hundreds of other people over the next 17 days.  You know the rest of the story.

 

Fortunately for the rest of us, a COVID-infected but asymptomatic passenger didn't board the ship (to my knowledge).  Again, we were lucky.”

This is precisely the challenge. The solution seems to administer a rapid result COVID-19 test on staff and every passenger before we board. The logistics seem pretty daunting. A company in Israel and one in China have begun testing a vaccine on humans. Here’s hoping.

 

[ClevelandKid]

4 hours ago, Squawkman said:

 

Agree - definitely a must-read. I believe all WAPO articles regarding Covid are free with no limit.

 

Notice no mention of anything Viking in the article.

Read it also - great article.  Might end up helping Viking as after reading that article there are definitely some other cruise lines I would avoid.

[tine-tine]

Oxford University researchers in the UK began testing covid19 vaccine on humans last week, still a long way to go even if it is successful. Two tests groups given injections one with the covid19 and another with a control injection, then they have to wait to see if people in the active vaccine group contract the disease, then they have to start pumping up production of the vaccine which is a lengthy process to manufacture and distribute world wide. I would like to think that whoever is successful takes a humanitarian approach and does not profiteer but shares with the world, similar to Sir Tim Berners-Lee father of the web.

[Squawkman]

We were scheduled to fly to Amsterdam 3/20 for our precruise extension. We decided the first week in March to cancel under the March 2 Viking rules.

 

On March 11, Viking cancelled all cruises from 3/12 through 4/30.

 

The evening of March 16, I received an email that my office was closing, and there were announcements that most schools were closing.

 

Now look at that picture taken March 21 on that big boat. 

[Clay Clayton]

Interesting article. I would love to see a per capita comparison of covid positive/passengers & crew and covid positive/population of NYC, New Orleans and Seattle or other “hot spots” as well as places that have cases but not as many-perhaps Raleigh, Chicago, Los Angeles. 
 

In other words, were you more likely to be exposed aboard a cruise ship or on the NYC Subway?

[Squawkman]

1 minute ago, Clay Clayton said:

In other words, were you more likely to be exposed aboard a cruise ship or on the NYC Subway?

As a native New Yorker who traveled subways exclusively until I was 25 (when I moved to and started working in New Jersey), Viking is definitely safer. I would have to think about my one experience with Princess - probably even with the subways.