More than a dozen crew members from two Costa cruise ships have been brought to shore in Miami, before being rushed to the hospital to be tested for coronavirus.
Startling footage filmed Thursday afternoon saw more than a dozen crew from the Costa Favolosa and the Costa Magica jump into lifeboats in order to reach mainland United States.
The crew members wore hazmat suits and were inspected by medics once they arrived on dry land, and several ambulances were on standby to escort them to hospital.
A company spokesperson said the Costa Favolosa and the Costa Magica are carrying a combined total of 1,939 crew, and there are at least 30 who have come down with a flu-like illness.
The spokesperson said the boats would dock in Miami late Thursday, and that the rest of the crew would be able to disembark. All passengers were able to disembark the boats back in Guadeloupe and nearby Martinique in the Caribbean.
More than a dozen crew members from two Costa cruise ships have been brought to shore in Miami, before being rushed onward to hospital to be tested for coronavirus
The crew members wore hazmat suits and were inspected by medics once they arrived on dry land, and several ambulances were on standby to escort them to hospital
A company spokesperson said the Costa Favolosa and the Costa Magica are carrying a combined total of 1939 crew, and there are at least 30 who have come down with a flu-like illness
It is unclear whether all 1,939 crew members will be tested for COVID-19, or whether they will be placed in quarantine for 14 days.
Both ships are based in Guadeloupe, a Caribbean island territory of France, but authorities have not allowed the boats to return there.
In recent days, both cruise ships have been circling off the coast of Antilla, Cuba after also being blocked from docking there.
The Costa Favolosa and the Costa Magica both set off on 7 and 14 night Caribbean cruises earlier this month, according to the Miami Herald.
Medics weren’t taking any changes, donning gowns and protective masks and gloves as they brought crew members to shore
Startling footage filmed Thursday afternoon saw more than a dozen crew from the the Costa Favolosa and the Costa Magica jump into lifeboats in order to reach mainland United States
The two cruise ships had been blocked from entering ports in the Caribbean
However, the journeys were interrupted March 13, when parent company Carnival Corporations announced it would suspend operations for 30 days amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
All passengers and a small number of crew were able to disembark the boats back in Guadeloupe and nearby Martinique.
Three passengers and three crew members from the Costa Favolosa who left the vessel subsequently tested positive to COVID-19.
One passenger and one crew member from the Costa Magica also tested positive for the highly contagious virus.
In the 13 days since passengers disembarked, the ships have been traveling around the Caribbean in search of a place to port – until the United States intervened.
Miami’s Jackson Health Systems told CBS that they will work with Baptist Health to treat sick crew members
In a statement the US Coast Guard, told The Miami Herald: ‘The Coast Guard is monitoring the situation of both underway passenger vessels and is working with federal, state, and local port partners as coordination efforts are made to assist any mariners and crew that need higher medical care.’
Miami’s Jackson Health Systems told CBS that they will work with Baptist Health to treat sick crew members.
“While we are all committed to preserving resources for our own residents, an international community like Miami would never turn our backs on people aboard ships at our shores,’ they stated.
‘A team from Jackson’s emergency department worked with the US Coast Guard and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to receive these symptomatic patients at the Coast Guard station, and they will be hospitalized at our three systems until they can safely return home’.
One passenger and one crew member from the Costa Magica (pictured) tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month. The boat is pictured off the coast of Miami Thursday
Several cruise ships have seen COVID-19 outbreaks in recent weeks, with experts claiming that the close confines of thousands of people make the vessels a perfect breeding ground for the highly contagious virus.
Earlier this month, at least 103 passengers from the Grand Princess cruise also tested positive for COVID-19.
Last month, more than 700 people on board cruise ship Diamond Princess also contracted the disease. Eight of those people died in relation to the virus.
The Costa Favolosa and the Costa Magica are pictured alongside other large vessels off the coast of Miami Thursday. They are expected to be brought in to dock later this evening
