Covid Positive aboard Viking Sky 7/14/22

[Liz55]

2 hours ago, bbtondo said:

I wonder if the departing cruisers can stay in Iceland at a hotel and enjoy the rest of their time there? 

This is a really important question. I think quite a few people are doing this...I know we are!  We would have some real shuffling to do if we can’t stay. 

[saratogian127]

3 minutes ago, sleepybobo said:

 

I don't disagree with you that daily PCR testing and contact tracing help prevent any COVID outbreak onboard and in the destination.  However, Iceland currently doesn't require vaccinated travelers to be tested on a daily basis.  Currently, there could be some asymptomatic infected individuals doing land based traveling in Iceland.  Shall this infected person be not on a Viking cruise, he or she would still be wandering around the country.  And there is no scientific basis on how infectious an asymptomatic vaccinated person really is.  The fact that there is no other COVID positive cases on the Sky now may suggest this COVID positive person probably isn't infectious.

 

I love Viking and I think Viking is a class act.  Based on the reports by the people onboard, Viking management and the crew handle the situation really well.  But I also think it'll be challenging for Viking or other cruise lines to deal with further trip interruptions like this one.  

 

May be time to rethink the testing protocol, if it's not required by local health authority?  And what's the point of contact tracing if the entire ship is deemed close contact?

Basically, they could do nothing more than the local governments want. Which, I think would be fair and likely less strenuous for Viking. If the local government says we need daily testing, not a problem. As long as I have the proper negative test to come home with, I'm happy. 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

2 hours ago, dcl999 said:

No temper tantrum please. We all had to read and agree to Viking policies. 
Hope all are well, travel safely and the positive people have mild cases. 

She was just kidding!

 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Someone on another thread who is on board Sky posted a copy of the letter he/she received.  It doesn't say anything about future cruises, but does say a lot, including that for current Sky passengers "Disembarkation will occur on July 17 as planned."  Viking anticipates getting back to Reykjavik mid-afternoon tomorrow (Friday), so I guess they have an overnight in Reykjavik.

 

Hopefully the Icelandic Coast Guard and the Icelandic Public Health authorities will iron out their differences, misunderstanding, or whatever it was.  And at least Jupiter is still sailing.  We'll see what happens with her - hopefully no positives, and hopefully no delays/missed ports.  

Edited July 16, 2021 by IWantToLiveOverTheSea

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

27 minutes ago, Liz55 said:

This is a really important question. I think quite a few people are doing this...I know we are!  We would have some real shuffling to do if we can’t stay. 

I think they'll be on the ship through at least Saturday morning. (See post 230). After that, nobody has said anything to imply they can't stay in Iceland as long as they continue to test negative on the ship, I suppose. 

 

Edited July 16, 2021 by IWantToLiveOverTheSea

[sleepybobo]

12 minutes ago, saratogian127 said:

Basically, they could do nothing more than the local governments want. Which, I think would be fair and likely less strenuous for Viking. If the local government says we need daily testing, not a problem. As long as I have the proper negative test to come home with, I'm happy. 

I understand Viking has to comply with whatever the local health authority dictates.  Unfortunately, in this incident, there seems to be conflicts and/or misunderstandings between lcelandic Coast Guard and the Icelandic Health authority.  

 

I was just saying if daily testing is not a requirement, then should Viking just drop this?  May be daily test is one of the criteria Iceland considered when approving these cruises?  I don't know.  

[kate7047]

7 minutes ago, sleepybobo said:

I understand Viking has to comply with whatever the local health authority dictates.  Unfortunately, in this incident, there seems to be conflicts and/or misunderstandings between lcelandic Coast Guard and the Icelandic Health authority.  

 

I was just saying if daily testing is not a requirement, then should Viking just drop this?  May be daily test is one of the criteria Iceland considered when approving these cruises?  I don't know.  

I also suspect the local government of these tiny towns or districts had some input. I suspect these was some anxiety there and they "called in the cavalry" (ie Icelandic Coast Guard) who exerted authority to keep them happy. Not sure how much the Icelandic Public Health service had to say, but there may be a conversation or 3 that will occur now about who is in charge. We will never know, of course.

[Twitchly]

42 minutes ago, sleepybobo said:

 

I don't disagree with you that daily PCR testing and contact tracing help prevent any COVID outbreak onboard and in the destination.  However, Iceland currently doesn't require vaccinated travelers to be tested on a daily basis.  Currently, there could be some asymptomatic infected individuals doing land based traveling in Iceland.  Shall this infected person be not on a Viking cruise, he or she would still be wandering around the country.  And there is no scientific basis on how infectious an asymptomatic vaccinated person really is.  The fact that there is no other COVID positive cases on the Sky now may suggest this COVID positive person probably isn't infectious.

 

I love Viking and I think Viking is a class act.  Based on the reports by the people onboard, Viking management and the crew handle the situation really well.  But I also think it'll be challenging for Viking or other cruise lines to deal with further trip interruptions like this one.  

 

May be time to rethink the testing protocol, if it's not required by local health authority?  And what's the point of contact tracing if the entire ship is deemed close contact?

This, +10. Though it’s probably too soon to adjust their daily testing right now, with people still being understandably antsy. Perhaps when enough time has passed and we have enough evidence that asymptomatic, vaccinated people do not spread Covid, even when they test positive. Hopefully soon. 

[BrynMawrPA]

7 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

This, +10. Though it’s probably too soon to adjust their daily testing right now, with people still being understandably antsy. Perhaps when enough time has passed and we have enough evidence that asymptomatic, vaccinated people do not spread Covid, even when they test positive. Hopefully soon. 

 

For Your Information:

Covid-19: Fully Vaccinated Individual can get Delta Variant, remain Asymptomatic and Spread Infection

"Speaking to NBC, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that a fully vaccinated individual can also be an asymptomatic carrier of the COVID-19 delta variant, and has an increased ability to spread the infection to other individuals. However, Fauci added that these vaccinated individuals are safe from the severe complications of the virus infection and may fight COVID-19 more efficiently than those who are not vaccinated."

[librarylady19]

3 hours ago, austinetc said:

This is sarcasm!  

 

It's unbelievable that Viking didn't visit every village and ask, "if one person on board tests positive for Covid, even though that person has been vaccinated, do you think passengers, wearing masks and maintaining social distancing, should be allowed to come ashore?" Moreover, why didn't the Icelandic government think to do this?

 

I would not be at all surprised if someone actually did ask this question, and the villagers, anxious for tourist money, said "oh, that'll be okay". Then when reality hit, they did some reconsidering.

Well, it sounds like it might have been out of the local authorities hands as I have seen multiple references to Icelandic Coast Guard issuing the orders (which makes sense) and that was specifically stated in Viking's letter to those on board Sky.

[rbslos18]

25 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

This, +10. Though it’s probably too soon to adjust their daily testing right now, with people still being understandably antsy. Perhaps when enough time has passed and we have enough evidence that asymptomatic, vaccinated people do not spread Covid, even when they test positive. Hopefully soon. 

If this is true, why are close to 50% of Israelis who are infected with the Delta variant vaccinated? There is no country with a higher percent of vaccination. Booster shots are beginning. 

[austinetc]

It now seems to me that when the ship discovered the positive result, they contacted the Coast Guard and/or the local authority, who then reacted in a way contrary to what the central government expected.  I suspect if it happens again Viking will contact the Icelandic Health Authority and let them decide how to handle/distribute the news.

[eldercruser1]

7 minutes ago, librarylady19 said:

Well, it sounds like it might have been out of the local authorities hands as I have seen multiple references to Icelandic Coast Guard issuing the orders (which makes sense) and that was specifically stated in Viking's letter to those on board Sky.

I agree that the local communities had little input on this. The Iceland Coast Guard didn't order the Sky tenders back to the ship on its own volition nor did the order for the Sky to return directly to Reykjavik come from a Coast Guard officer without decisions made at a much higher level.  National politics had as much to play in all this as anything.  But, as said earlier, we'll never know.

[Cher98]

 

Iceland

Entry requirements 

People with documentation of vaccination or previous infection do not have to undergo a test upon, or before, arrival. They just need to show their vaccine “passport” and 14 days have to have passed from the second dose (or 14 days from a Janssen/Johnson & Johnson dose) for a certificate to be valid.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/article/travel-to-europe.html#link-514e62b3

[Twitchly]

50 minutes ago, rbslos18 said:

If this is true, why are close to 50% of Israelis who are infected with the Delta variant vaccinated? There is no country with a higher percent of vaccination. Booster shots are beginning. 

It isn’t clear that vaccinated people are spreading the virus, just that some can still get it — albeit with reduced severity, which may lessen their threat to others. We just don’t know yet how contagious vaccinated, asymptomatic people are.

I couldn’t find anything about 50% of new cases in Israel being in vaccinated people. 

 

From Reuters, July 18:

“Only "a few hundred" of the 5.5 million people who have been vaccinated in Israel have later been infected with COVID-19, Ash said.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/living-with-covid-19-israel-changes-strategy-delta-variant-hits-2021-07-13/

 

In any case, it’s going to take time to figure this stuff out, so I understand why companies like Viking are erring on the side of extreme caution for now.

 

 

 

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, sleepybobo said:

I understand Viking has to comply with whatever the local health authority dictates.  Unfortunately, in this incident, there seems to be conflicts and/or misunderstandings between lcelandic Coast Guard and the Icelandic Health authority.  

 

I was just saying if daily testing is not a requirement, then should Viking just drop this?  May be daily test is one of the criteria Iceland considered when approving these cruises?  I don't know.  

 

The local health authority requirements, as with all maritime reguations, are a minimum standard, with quality ship owners operating a Safety Management System (SMS) requiring higher standards.

 

The Viking Sky is only 1 ship in the Viking fleet, which must operate a company wide SMS that can accommodate requirements of all operational areas. Since crews routinely move between ships, generally all ships operate to a consistent standard. All the more reason to maintain an elevated standard.

 

Viking have invested significant capital in installing PCR Labs and they promote them as integral to the best Health & Safety Practices at sea. Regardless of what Iceland require, I suspect Viking will continue with their amazing standards.

 

Compared to the initial Celebrity cruise, the Viking system worked well and in a timely manner. On the Viking Sky, the positive case was identified by onboard testing on day 4, whereas on the Celebrity ship it was only identified during pre-disembarkation testing. Although nobody else tested positive onboard the Celebrity ship, I don't believe any info was published on the status of pax once they returned home. They probably never even required testing, so we will never know if the infections were spread.

 

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, austinetc said:

It now seems to me that when the ship discovered the positive result, they contacted the Coast Guard and/or the local authority, who then reacted in a way contrary to what the central government expected.  I suspect if it happens again Viking will contact the Icelandic Health Authority and let them decide how to handle/distribute the news.

 

When reporting to shore authorities, the ship's Master normally doesn't have much discretion in who is called. The Master will have directives from the local authorities, in accordance with Ship Reporting Regulations, and failing that, the SMS will provide direction on both internal and external notifications.

[minka34]

Jupiter in port at Akureyri... preclearance seems to have been revoked and they are still negotiating our going on shore.  First tours were supposed to leave at 8am... it is 9:45 now.

[minka34]

No covid aboard Jupiter, as far as I  know.

[minka34]

There is an ambilance parked outside the Jupiter...

[minka34]

All busses are leaving empty.

[minka34]

Ambulance just pulled away also; not sure if empty. 

[faxoncat]

Thank you for the information, Minka34! Please keep us posted! We are already in Iceland for the Jupiter’s 07/20 embarkation. Hope all goes well for you folks and that any issues are resolved soon! - Terri and Marc Kirchner

[minka34]

Sorry for dble posts... doing this on my phone since the wifi is out on board right now... I posted this in another thread; update on the ambulance:

Just read on another site, and apparently confirmed by a crew member, that the ambulance outside of Jupiter this morning was for a passenger that slipped, fell, and broke a hip. Bummer for that person, what a sad thing to have happen, especially on vacation. 

[bbtondo]

12 hours ago, sleepybobo said:

 

I don't disagree with you that daily PCR testing and contact tracing help prevent any COVID outbreak onboard and in the destination.  However, Iceland currently doesn't require vaccinated travelers to be tested on a daily basis.  Currently, there could be some asymptomatic infected individuals doing land based traveling in Iceland.  Shall this infected person be not on a Viking cruise, he or she would still be wandering around the country.  And there is no scientific basis on how infectious an asymptomatic vaccinated person really is.  The fact that there is no other COVID positive cases on the Sky now may suggest this COVID positive person probably isn't infectious.

 

I love Viking and I think Viking is a class act.  Based on the reports by the people onboard, Viking management and the crew handle the situation really well.  But I also think it'll be challenging for Viking or other cruise lines to deal with further trip interruptions like this one.  

 

May be time to rethink the testing protocol, if it's not required by local health authority?  And what's the point of contact tracing if the entire ship is deemed close contact?

Totally agree!  I think in time the testing protocols will change. This is all new and I believe Viking is doing a good job in an ever changing environment.