48 people aboard Miami cruise ship tests positive for COVID; 1 Omicron case reported

As many as 48 people tested positive for COVID onboard Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas ship that completed a seven-day sailing in Miami on Saturday, December 18. The 48 who tested positive made up 0.78% of the 6,091 passengers and crew members aboard the ship, which departed Miami on December 11 and stopped in St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Perfect Day at CocoCay (Royal Caribbean's own island), cruise's spokesperson Lyan Sierra-Caro was reported as saying by USA Today. The cruise line initially reported 44 positive cases. However, On Monday, Sierra-Caro stated that four more close contacts were identified as positive at the end of the journey. The passengers were quarantined on board and given assistance when the ship arrived on December 18, he added.

On December 18, the cruise line also informed that a passenger who travelled on the same ship earlier this month was tested positive for the Omicron variant. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notified us that a passenger on our cruise had tested positive for Omicron. The CDC also asked us to notify guests on the sailing," Sierra-Caro stated. He further added that six people were transported home after disembarking early in the cruise, whereas, the rest of the passengers were aided at disembarkation in Miami.

The CDC said in a statement that it was aware of the situation aboard the Symphony of the Seas and that it was working with Royal Caribbean island (RCI) to learn more about the cases and suspected exposures. RCI will also collect specimens from the current cruise for genetic sequencing, the agency added. Notably, Symphony of the Seas is "Yellow" on the CDC's cruise ship colour status list, which suggests that the CDC has investigated and the ship is still under investigation.

Federal court approves President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate 

It is pertinent to mention here that on December 17, US President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private businesses was approved by a federal appeals court panel, overturning an earlier judgement on a requirement that could affect at least 84 million workers in the United States. The 2-1 ruling by a panel of the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati overruled a federal judge's order in a different court that had put the mandate on hold, reported Associated Press (AP). The vaccine mandate would apply to businesses with 100 or more employees, covering over 84 million people in the United States.

Image: Pixabay/Representative