Getty Image
- Two passengers onboard Celebrity Millennium tested positive for COVID-19 while conducting end-of-cruise testing.
- The Celebrity Millennium claimed to have been sailing with “fully vaccinated crew and guests.”
- More health news here.
Two passengers on the “fully vaccinated” Royal Caribbean Celebrity Millennium cruise ship have tested positive for COVID-19. Here we go again?
The Celebrity Millennium is the first major sea cruise with American passengers on board since the global coronavirus pandemic basically shut down the entire cruise industry.
The passengers who tested positive on the seven-day cruise from St. Maarten during end-of-cruise testing, which is completed 72 hours before returning to the United States, according to USA Today, are reportedly asymptomatic.
In a statement from Royal Caribbean, the two guests are “currently in isolation and being monitored by our medical team. We are conducting contact tracing, expediting testing for all close contacts and closely monitoring the situation.”
Returning to @Barbados, the land of flying fish and Crop Over for the first time in over a year is truly special. Every measured step was taken to ensure that we protect the health and safety of our guests, crew and the residents of this treasured destination and we are thankful. pic.twitter.com/WsSzSKlBNm
— Royal Caribbean Group (@NewsfromRCgroup) June 7, 2021
Despite the positive COVID-19 tests, the Royal Caribbean Celebrity Millennium, currently docked in Curaço, still plans to hit the sea and return to St. Maarten this Saturday.
Celebrity Millennium is sailing with fully vaccinated crew and guests and following comprehensive protocols that align with our destination partners and exceed CDC guidelines to protect the health and safety of our guests. All guests on Celebrity Millennium were required to show proof of vaccination as well as a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours before sailing from St. Maarten this past Saturday. This situation demonstrates that our rigorous health and safety protocols work to protect our crew, guests and the communities we visit.
According to CNN, “about 500 passengers were on board, with over 95% fully vaccinated. Children who could not yet receive vaccinations were required to show negative COVID-19 tests.”
It was reported in a recent study found that people can still get infected after being vaccinated, but fully vaccinated people are supposed to be more than 90% protected.
In May of 2020, over 100,000 cruise ship crew members had been trapped at sea and unable to return home for over two months as ports refused to let them disembark.