Gov. DeSantis on COVID-19 cruise ships: Environment will be controlled, sick will get treatment
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis provides an update on two cruise ships set to dock in South Florida and what will happen with the sick passengers on board
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UPDATE: The Zaandam docked in Port Everglades around 4:50 p.m. The Rotterdam followed behind it. Ambulances and emergency crews were waiting at the dock to take care of sick passengers and crew members.
The mayor of Fort Lauderdale has shared details of the disembarkation plan for two Holland America Line cruise ships waiting outside U.S. waters with hundreds of sick passengers and crew members aboard.
OVER 200 ON RUBY PRINCESS CRUISE SHIP REPORTEDLY SICK
The Zaandam and the Rotterdam, which are carrying at least 233 passengers and crew who reported experiencing “influenza-like illness symptoms” since March 22, had reached a conditional agreement with local officials to dock at Port Everglades on Thursday morning, although a specific time frame was not made public.
In a late afternoon press conference, Gov. Ron DeSantis thanked everyone who was involved in what he described as a "tough situation," saying that they handled it well. He also mentioned that other cruise ships were still out at sea, but since they were not carrying any Florida citizens, he said it would be difficult to accomodate them due to the situation in south Florida.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis shared details of a decision to allow the ships to dock, made alongside members of the Coast Guard, Homeland Security, and state and local officials. Trantalis said he also met with Holland America's president, and the company agreed to a strict set of protocols.
"They are representing to us that these protocols are intended to protect our community by ensuring there is no contact with local residents," Trantalis wrote on Facebook. "They will be placed on private chartered buses, taken directly to the airport tarmac and board chartered flights out of our community."
"A small number of critically ill passengers will go to local hospitals. Others who are mildly ill or have symptoms will be quarantined at sea on the ships until they recover.
"Given the county’s decision to allow the ships here, I believe these regulations present a humanitarian solution for those on board while providing strong safeguards for our community."
The Zaandam cruise ship, left, and the Rotterdam, seen here outside of Panama last week, were waiting outside of U.S. waters for clearance to disembark in Florida. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)
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Trantalis' post came hours after Broward County Commissioner Michael Udine had said that Broward’s Unified Command — which includes officials from the Coast Guard, the Sheriff’s Office and health experts, among other officials — had reached a conditional agreement with the Carnival Corporation, which owns the Holland America Line, on a plan for disembarkation.
Officials in Florida, including Governor Ron DeSantis, had originally opposed allowing the ships to dock in Florida, with DeSantis himself saying it would be “a mistake” on Monday. He appeared to change his stance by Wednesday, publicly saying that officials were indeed “working on a plan” to allow only Florida residents to disembark and to expatriate foreign nationals.
“We were concerned about a deluge into our hospitals,” but ultimately said that the local hospitals believe they can manage the cases,” he told Neil Cavuto during a televised appearance on Wednesday.
At the time, DeSantis had said he'd already spoken with President Trump about the situation. Trump had previously expressed his desire to "do what's right" for the people on the ship.
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The Zaandam and the Rotterdam arrived early on Thursday morning, with 233 passengers and crew who, at some point since March 22, were said to have been exhibiting “influenza-like illness symptoms," according to Holland America. At least eight of the people onboard had tested positive for COVID-19; four “older” guests were also confirmed to have died on the Zaandam last week.
The Zaandam, which is carrying the majority of the ill passengers and crew, has been at sea since March 7 but was denied docking in South America after Holland America suspended all cruise operations on March 13. On March 22, a day after the cruise was scheduled to end, Holland America confirmed that passengers and crew members began to start exhibiting the “influenza-like illness symptoms.”
The Rotterdam, another of Holland America’s ships, was dispatched to rendezvous with the Zaandam near Panama, to deliver supplies and COVID-19 testing kits. The cruise line confirmed that some passengers had tested positive for COVID-19; Holland American did not say what the four “older” passengers had died of. The Zaandam’s healthy passengers were transferred to the Rotterdam around that time, and both ships were then granted passage through the Panama Canal.
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The liners headed north earlier this week. In total, both ships are carrying over 2,400 passengers and crew members.