Cruise Ship Docks In Miami With 2 Dead From Coronavirus

MIAMI, FL — A Princess Cruises ship with two dead passengers suffering from the new coronavirus and at least four other passengers who required off-ship medical attention was permitted to dock at PortMiami Saturday, two days after two Holland America Line cruise ships pulled into nearby Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades with four dead passengers.

"I’m a firefighter. To me, we have to save lives, and there are people dying on that ship," Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez told reporters Saturday afternoon in explaining why he allowed the Coral Princess cruise ship to dock in Miami. "It’s unfortunate that on the way here two passengers died."

Two of the sick passengers were taken to Larkin Community Hospital in Hialeah Saturday while two others were to be taken to an unspecified hospital in Tampa. See also Cruise Ships With 4 Dead Arrive In Florida

Gimenez said the passengers taken to Larkin include an American and an Australian.

The cruise line, which is part of Carnival Cruise Corp., said Saturday it will take several days to get all of the passengers who are well enough to travel, off the ship, mostly based on the availability of flights.

"All of us at Princess Cruises are deeply saddened to report that two guests passed away on Coral Princess," cruise line officials said. "Our hearts go out to their family, friends, and all who are impacted by this loss."

There were a total of 1,020 passengers and 878 crew on board the ship, according to cruise line officials. The Coral Princess departed March 5 from San Antonio, Santiago for a South America voyage that had been scheduled to end in Buenos Aires on March 19.

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"Those with symptoms will not be allowed off the ship," Gimenez said. "The plan right now is for them to remain on the ship until they get better."

Gimenez said 993 passengers had been deemed fit for travel as of Friday night while 27 were not deemed fit for travel. Of the crew, 38 were deemed not fit for travel.

The Coral Princess is equipped with four ventilators and had at least four doctors and additional nurses on board, according to the mayor.

"In response to a reported small cluster of cases of respiratory illness and in an abundance of caution, Coral Princess proactively collected and sent 13 COVID-19 test samples to Barbados on March 31," cruise officials reported on April 2. "We can confirm the results yielded 12 positive cases — 7 guests and 5 crew."

Gimenez described the crew members who were deemed not fit for travel as "relatively young." He said they do not require hospitalization.

The mayor said most of the passengers will leave from Miami International Airport.

"Most of those passengers on that ship are not ill," the mayor said. "Most of them are going to get on a charter, won’t even go into the terminal. The other ones we put into a closed terminal, and when they are ready to board their commercial flights, we basically put them right on board. They are all to wear masks all the way through to their final destination."

He said all passengers were being screened before leaving for the airport.

Most of the cruise line industry announced a voluntary suspension of cruise ship operations from U.S. ports on March 13th, and the CDC issued a “no sail” order on March 14 to all cruise ships that had not done so voluntarily, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard reported Saturday there were 114 cruise ships with 93,000 crew members in or near U.S. ports and waters.

"This includes 73 cruise ships, with 52,000 crew members, moored or anchored in U.S. ports and anchorages," the Coast Guard said. "Another 41 cruise ships, with 41,000 crew members, are underway and still in vicinity of the United States."