Mexico's authorities step in after cruise ships are refused entry to ports
With the omicron COVID-19 variant proving resilient against vaccines, a few breakthrough cases have surfaced on cruise ships in the past week. Consequently, several major cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line, and Holland America, found their ships denied entry to ports such as Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao.
Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan were the latest ports to prevent passengers, even those testing negative, from disembarking, prompting intervention from the Mexican government.
On Monday, the Carnival Panorama, sailing a seven-night journey through the Mexican Riviera from Long Beach near Los Angeles, was turned away at Puerto Vallarta, as reported by passengers on board. They noted that the ship had five sick passengers and around 100 crew members testing positive as of that day.
A cruise map illustrates that Carnival Panorama's itinerary omitted Mazatlan after it was denied entry on Tuesday due to COVID-19 cases on board. (Image courtesy of Cruisemapper.com)The ship was also barred from stopping in Mazatlan on Tuesday, leading to intervention by the Mexican government, according to The Associated Press.
Mexico's Health Department announced that passengers testing negative will be permitted to disembark, provided the ships adhere to World Health Organization protocols, which include mask-wearing, social distancing, hand hygiene, and sanitization measures.
In a joint statement, Mexico's government and the public health secretary indicated that the country will accept cruise ships seeking to dock and will provide medical assistance to any ill passengers in need.
This decision was made in time for Holland America's Zuiderdam to dock at the port of Guaymas on Tuesday, as reported by Reuters.
Zuiderdam, currently on a 10-day cruise from San Diego, has around 2,000 passengers and crew aboard, with 30 individuals affected—two passengers and 28 crew members. All are fully vaccinated and either asymptomatic or exhibiting only mild symptoms.
A cruise map depicts Zuiderdam docked at Guaymas as scheduled on Tuesday, following Mexico's decision to permit cruise ships with COVID-19 cases to dock. (Image courtesy of Cruisemapper.com)Recent outbreaks on board ships have impacted about 1% of the total onboard populations, with at least 90% of those fully vaccinated, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Throughout the pandemic, Mexico has maintained relatively lenient travel restrictions. Recently, the U.S. State Department raised its travel advisory to "reconsider travel," partially due to the country's high COVID-19 case numbers.
Zuiderdam is scheduled to arrive in Topolobampo on Wednesday and Mazatlan on Thursday, with the voyage expected to conclude in San Diego on January 2. Meanwhile, Carnival Panorama plans to stop in Cabo San Lucas on Wednesday, followed by a sea day on Thursday before returning to Long Beach on Friday.
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