Problem on the breakaway in NO

[seaman11]

Just now, firefly333 said:

I've heard doctors say this too . ..they can tell it's the new one. That's why positives are popping up so fast of omnicron. It's not that hard for a lab to detect from the results.

the person that works at a lab and said they cant tell should let us know the name to avoid using them lol  obviously there must be some way to detect it , but i agree the pcr or rapid test would not. 

[Stevie17]

3 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I've heard a pcur test can tell if it's the new variant or the one we are fighting now. The results are missing something that the current variant has. Has to be a pcur not a rapid test but they can tell it's the new one fairly easily. 

 

Well that explains why 10 positives they got so crazy and late boarding. .. makes sense.

That's incorrect. A typical PCR test can detect COVID, regardless of of the variant, but current PCR tests as they are administered cannot detect a specific S-Gene dropout (which is what you are referring to above). That currently requires gene sequencing...not a simple PCR test.

[cruising sister]

Just got off  the Joy yesterday. I was afraid the Thanksgiving get togethers may lead to positive results on the cruises leaving last  weekend. You  could test negative on Saturday and positive during the week. I hope all who test positive will have mild and short illnesses. I would say 99% of the staff wore their masks properly on our cruise and took Covid seriously. It would be a tough decision to make make not knowing all the facts of the current infections  We were the ones on the cruise wearing masks in crowds and nobody gave us funny looks. We had a great time and plan to cruise in January if all things fall into place. 

[seaman11]

1 minute ago, Juncti said:

My wife works in research and she's saying same thing. There isn't any way she knows of to sequence a sample, especially on a Sunday

 

So either they have some new fast way to test or they're just making the assumption

 

Give NCL wants to sail and make money I have to imagine it's real. I doubt they want to scare away passengers and give refunds

 

they probably sent a culture off to a lab that can detect it . not all can but some can.   since they did some tests yesterday im sure they sent it in the morning as they ported. 

[Sailing12Away]

2 minutes ago, seaman11 said:

BBC reported there are labs that can take the swab and look at them to see if its omnicron or delta or whatever. 

Sure, testing is done with the same sample as the antigen test or PCR test. But what I'm talking about is the timing. Everyone is an expert in testing these days - antigen is rapid (10 mins), but not specific. PCR is more specific, but slower (1 hr - 6 hrs).

Then you have next generation sequencing (NGS) - that's where you're not just looking for a specific part of a DNA sequence to say positive/negative, but to do essentially a full DNA profile mapping to see that yes you are both humans, but are you also siblings. That's typically only done in state run labs or big reference testing centers, and I assure you is not done in <24 hours.

[firefly333]

6 minutes ago, seaman11 said:

the person that works at a lab and said they cant tell should let us know the name to avoid using them lol  obviously there must be some way to detect it , but i agree the pcr or rapid test would not. 

I googled and 2 different things that sound like tests came up saying these tests can detect it. I didnt say all could detect omnicron but clearly it's not as hard as people are saying to determine either.

 

What's a proctored cue test. They say they can detect it from at home testing. .. and found another test that can and I looked 2 minutes. And tv doctors say there are tests that can determine it that can be used. 

 

I give up, clearly I'm just listening to national tv doctors, but google says there are tests. 

 

 

[vettprincess]

1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

I googled and 2 different things that sound like tests came up saying these tests can detect it. I didnt say all could detect omnicron but clearly it's not as hard as people are saying to determine either.

 

What's a proctored cue test. They say they can detect it from at home testing. .. and found another test that can and I looked 2 minutes. And tv doctors say there are tests that can determine it that can be used. 

 

I give up, clearly I'm just listening to national tv doctors, but google says there are tests. 

 

 

makes no matter either we sail or we do not bottom line

[willr96]

If the samples from the 10 positives were taken earlier in the week, they could easily receive the results of the NGS in time. Possibly what triggered the more in depth testing of the entire ship upon return... 

[rollo89]

10 people out of roughly 2500?  .004%  Not even 1%.  Will be on the ship Jan 9th.

 

[Bluewake]

This may be a matter of things getting convoluted.   It was reported that the first diagnosed case of omicron variant covid appeared in Louisiana in the same article describing the Breakaway situation.   Anyone who has ever played the game of "gossip" can easily see how this may have been turned into "Omicron is on the Breakaway!".   I didn't find anything stating that it actually was the omicron variant on the ship.  I suppose tests will be conducted to determine if that is the case.

 

https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/2021/12/05/louisiana-confirms-first-omicron-case-covid-infected-cruise-ship-arriving-new-orleans/8880564002/

[BennyBrun]

Be interesting to hear back from those that decided to go on this current cruise what the new restrictions are and any modifications being made.

[seaman11]

19 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

Sure, testing is done with the same sample as the antigen test or PCR test. But what I'm talking about is the timing. Everyone is an expert in testing these days - antigen is rapid (10 mins), but not specific. PCR is more specific, but slower (1 hr - 6 hrs).

Then you have next generation sequencing (NGS) - that's where you're not just looking for a specific part of a DNA sequence to say positive/negative, but to do essentially a full DNA profile mapping to see that yes you are both humans, but are you also siblings. That's typically only done in state run labs or big reference testing centers, and I assure you is not done in <24 hours.

I agreed it couldnt be done with the rapid and pcr but sent to a lab that could it should only take a few hours and since they had several hours im sure they did send it off right away this morning.  

 

im talking early detection by looking at it not a full genetic analysis which I know would take time to confirm . 

Edited December 5, 2021 by seaman11

[Fredric22]

If some or all of these 10 cases are omicron, I guarantee that if we tested every positive test done in the US today we would have thousands and thousands of omicron cases.

Edited December 5, 2021 by Fredric22

[ShowMeCruise]

4 minutes ago, BennyBrun said:

Be interesting to hear back from those that decided to go on this current cruise what the new restrictions are and any modifications being made.

I'll let you know as soon as we board as we're curious as well.

[Fredric22]

2 minutes ago, ShowMeCruise said:

I'll let you know as soon as we board as we're curious as well.

Can you tell us what they said with regards to omicron being detected?

[Juncti]

They just read us the letter, masks now required indoors. No idea how that works with dining and bars.

 

$200 on board credit, a discount towards a future cruise.

 

We're also losing 1 port and another cut short so far.

 

Still sitting in this hot room, no clue when we board. They haven't printed the letters yet

 

No idea why they don't just send it to us to eSign like all other docs. 

[BennyBrun]

7 minutes ago, ShowMeCruise said:

I'll let you know as soon as we board as we're curious as well.

Thank you for keeping us updated.

[Sailing12Away]

9 minutes ago, seaman11 said:

I agreed it couldnt be done with the rapid and pcr but sent to a lab that could it should only take a few hours and since they had several hours im sure they did send it off right away this morning.  

No, you're not understanding. NGS is for public health surveillance and research only. Meaning 90% of labs do not do it, as there is no need - it doesn't change the treatment for the patient. The only people who care what strain it is are researchers and epidemiologists whose job it is to study such things.

 

Plus, the test is not done in just a few hours - even if a research lab agreed to let those 10 samples cut the line and skip ahead of all the other patients who are waiting to see if their child has down syndrome, or the particular strain of lung cancer someone has so they can start targeted chemotherapy. Not going to happen. Plus, you're ignoring the cost. These tests cost thousands of dollars because they're performed so infrequently and require such a high degree of skill to interpret them.

 

Regardless - it doesn't change the game. Whether the folks who tested positive have the Omicron strain or not, it really doesn't matter. At this point in the game, a positive Covid-19 test is a positive Covid-19 test. No special rules or guidelines for those with the original strain, delta strain, or whatever else is coming next.

[wolft927]

Don’t forget masks required indoors and crowded outdoor areas

[Fredric22]

1 minute ago, wolft927 said:

Don’t forget masks required indoors and crowded outdoor areas

and also while sleeping...I heard. 

[seaman11]

3 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

No, you're not understanding. NGS is for public health surveillance and research only. Meaning 90% of labs do not do it, as there is no need - it doesn't change the treatment for the patient. The only people who care what strain it is are researchers and epidemiologists whose job it is to study such things.

 

Plus, the test is not done in just a few hours - even if a research lab agreed to let those 10 samples cut the line and skip ahead of all the other patients who are waiting to see if their child has down syndrome, or the particular strain of lung cancer someone has so they can start targeted chemotherapy. Not going to happen. Plus, you're ignoring the cost. These tests cost thousands of dollars because they're performed so infrequently and require such a high degree of skill to interpret them.

 

Regardless - it doesn't change the game. Whether the folks who tested positive have the Omicron strain or not, it really doesn't matter. At this point in the game, a positive Covid-19 test is a positive Covid-19 test. No special rules or guidelines for those with the original strain, delta strain, or whatever else is coming next.

m talking early detection by looking at it not a full genetic analysis which I know would take time to confirm . 

 

u left that part out . 

[BirdTravels]

47 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I've heard a pcur test can tell if it's the new variant or the one we are fighting now. The results are missing something that the current variant has. Has to be a pcur not a rapid test but they can tell it's the new one in a lab. .. 

 

Well that explains why 10 positives they got so crazy and late boarding. .. makes sense.

That is incorrect. A PCR test can not positively identify omicron. 

[phillygwm]

1 hour ago, Old &amp; Retired said:

Incorrect.  The crew on any given NCL ship is tested 2-3 times per week, every week.  That amounts to thousands of tests per week on the ship.

So they have the capacity to more than double that?

[marktwothousand]

Oh my LAN😱a mask mandate on NCL now??!

[Chyna3032]

5 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

do you think NCL will start to require masks when indoors to prevent this from happening again?

I think this is a good idea.  I was recently on a Carnival Cruise where masks are required in most indoor areas. I don't know of any cases onboard and I know a lot of us tested when we returned and none of us tested positive.