27 Vaccinated Crew, Guests Onboard Carnival Cruise Test Positive For COVID-19

A Carnival cruise ship carrying over 4,000 passengers and crew members announced last week that 27 people who were on board the ship tested positive for COVID-19. The ship had left from Galveston, Texas and arrived in Belize City Wednesday.

The Belize Tourism Board said the passengers were tested just before the vessel made a stop in the port of Belize. Among those who tested positive were 26 of the crew members and one passenger. All of the 27 infected individuals were said to have been fully vaccinated and have since been in isolation showing only mild or no symptoms at all.

According to CNN, guests with negative Covid-19 test results were allowed to disembark in Belize to enjoy the scheduled shore stop excursions. Belize officials required each passenger to submit themselves for random testing regardless of whether they had proof of vaccination.

A press release from the Belize Tourism Board stated that 96.5% of the ship’s guests were fully vaccinated as well as 99.8% of its crew members. Contact tracing has been done and completed covering nearly 1,000 tests.

The Carnival Vista was carrying over 1,400 crew members and close to 3,000 passengers when they set off for the cruise on Aug. 7. A statement from the cruise line said that all passengers were asked to provide negative COVID tests within three days of embarking and applied mandatory wearing of masks in certain common areas in the ship.

The Belize Tourism Board said local protocols do not allow passengers to disembark if the number of positive cases exceeds 2% of the ship’s total number of guests and crews. As per reports on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, the Carnival Vista remains under observation although the CDC has already investigated the cases.

In a previous sailing on July 31, Carnival said they also had a small number of positive cases. The company reassured that all guests on board these cruise dates have been notified and kept updated.

From Saturday, the cruise line requires passengers to be vaccinated with the exception of children and individuals with medical issues. They must also provide a negative COVID test result regardless if they have received full vaccination.