Update: Royal Caribbean guests prepare to disembark after infected passenger taken to hospital
An 83-year-old Singaporean was confirmed this morning by tourism officials to be the passenger who tested positive for the coronavirus aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas cruise ship.
The unidentified passenger had tested negative for COVID-19 before boarding the vessel but later went to medical personnel on board complaining of diarrhea. Another test came back positive.
“The passenger had reported to the on-board medical centre with diarrhoea, and underwent a mandatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test as part of on-board protocols,” read a statement from Annie Chang, the tourism board’s point person on cruise operations.
Passengers at the balconies of the Royal Caribbean’s #QuantumoftheSeas cruise ship now docked at Singapore’s Marina Bay Cruise Centre after a passenger tested positive for #COVID19 https://t.co/ogxkG28ewV pic.twitter.com/SmNMFyISmS
— Coconuts Singapore (@CoconutsSG) December 9, 2020
All guests and crew members who came into contact with the elderly person have since tested negative for the disease, she added. The infected passenger was immediately isolated and all other passengers told to remain in their cabins. One passenger wrote on social media the news came before dawn this morning.
Those who did not come into contact with the infected passenger will be allowed to disembark but must be monitored afterward. An advisory by the Health Ministry to passengers said that Royal Caribbean would contact them the following week with details of their COVID-19 swab appointments.
#QuantumoftheSeas: 8 hours later, passengers have yet to disembark the Royal Caribbean cruise ship where an elderly guest tested positive for #COVID19 https://t.co/4JYBBibyMs pic.twitter.com/YDdHBTGi0P
— Coconuts Singapore (@CoconutsSG) December 9, 2020
The ship’s captain broke the news to the passengers at around 3am. The cruise ship, which was supposed to be on a four-day voyage around Singapore, was forced to return a day earlier and arrived back at port at 8am. It was carrying 1,680 guests and 1,148 crew members.
Royal Caribbean only returned to the sea this month after getting a green light in October.
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