Inside the fiasco repatriation of American Luminosa cruise passengers

At least one American has died and dozens more have tested positive for coronavirus after the fiasco repatriation that saw over 350 passengers from the infected Costa Luminosa cruise ship flown to the US before being allowed to disperse across the country. 

Passengers have since described the ordeal as ‘a suicide mission’ after they were stranded for days on the ship after being exposed to coronavirus and then flown back to the US on a charter flight that had three people onboard who had tested positive.

Tom Sheehan, a 69-year-old who was hospitalized and tested positive a day after getting off the charter flight and arriving back in his home state of Florida, died last Saturday. 

His family said they were forced to say goodbye over a speakerphone because quarantine restrictions prevented them from being by his side at the Sarasota Memorial Hospital where he died.    

More than 30 other passengers who were also on the ship and charter flight now say they have tested positive for coronavirus in the two weeks since they have been back on US soil. 

Several passengers have indicated they now plan to pursue legal action against the Italian cruise company over the harrowing ordeal amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Costa Luminosa cruise ship Tom Sheehan, who was hospitalized and tested positive COVID-19 a day after getting off the flight and arriving back in his home state of Florida, died last Saturday. He is pictured above with his wife Jill who also tested positive

Some passengers say their ordeals began before the cruise even set off from Fort Lauderdale on March 5 destined for Venice, Italy. 

They say they had tried to cancel the trans-Atlantic cruise but the company refused to give them a refund, assuring them it was safe to go three days before the US State Department issued a warning for Americans not to travel on cruise ships. 

Just days later, three passengers were removed from the ship in the Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico after testing positive for COVID-19.

An Italian woman disembarked in Puerto Rico on March 8 with her husband after she started having breathing problems. The woman and her husband were both hospitalized and later tested positive for coronavirus. The woman has since died.

When the cases came to light, the Costa Luminosa was denied permission to disembark its passengers in some Caribbean ports and Spain after that government decided to close the country’s ports to passenger traffic. 

The ship spent several days at sea before it was finally granted permission to dock in Marseille, France, under strict quarantine conditions. 

The 359 American and Canadian passengers were able to disembark from the ship and were put on the flight from France to the United States. 

On the chaotic flight home, some passengers suffered breathing problems, many coughed and several fainted with no food or medical personnel provided, travelers said.

‘It was a suicide mission,’ said passenger Jenny Harrell, of Fredericksburg, Virginia. ‘It was a mass triage with absolutely no direction and the crew going, ‘What should we do now?” 

Passengers have since described the ordeal as 'a suicide mission' after they were stranded for days on the ship after being exposed to coronavirus and then flown back to the US on a charter flight that had three people onboard who had tested positive

Passengers have since described the ordeal as ‘a suicide mission’ after they were stranded for days on the ship after being exposed to coronavirus and then flown back to the US on a charter flight that had three people onboard who had tested positive

After setting off on March 5 in Florida, three passengers were removed from the ship in the Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico after testing positive for COVID-19

Crew members are pictured above delivering food to passengers quarantining on the ship

After setting off on March 5 in Florida, three passengers were removed from the ship in the Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico after testing positive for COVID-19. Crew members are pictured above delivering food to passengers quarantining on the ship

The ship spent several days at sea before it was finally granted permission to dock in Marseille, France, under strict quarantine conditions. The 359 American and Canadian passengers were able to disembark from the ship and were put on the flight from France to the United States

The ship spent several days at sea before it was finally granted permission to dock in Marseille, France, under strict quarantine conditions. The 359 American and Canadian passengers were able to disembark from the ship and were put on the flight from France to the United States

Decisions were left up to the passengers, said Harrell, who had some emergency medical training in the past and helped a physician who was also among the passengers.  

The plane landed at Atlanta’s international airport as emergency responders, and health and customs officials deployed to screen them for the coronavirus. 

Three people on the flight tested positive for the coronavirus before landing but had no symptoms, US health officials said. Thirteen others were sick but hadn’t been tested and one passenger was sent to a local hospital. 

Harrell said she isolated two other passengers who were having breathing problems. 

One had a chronic lung disease and needed to be hooked to a ventilator. Another passenger had an asthma attack and several others fainted, apparently from low blood sugar levels. Harrell said many travelers were coughing and she helped treat people who had a fever. 

‘There should have been medical personnel on that flight,’ Harrell said.

The ship passengers also complained they were given no food other than orange juice and crackers in more than 24 hours – the time it took to disembark in Marseille,  to fly to Atlanta and be cleared by officials.  

At one point, Harrell said, the flight attendants handed her the cabin microphone.

‘I basically took over the plane,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t even make this up for a movie.’

The plane landed at Atlanta's international airport as emergency responders, and health and customs officials deployed to screen them for the coronavirus. Three people on the flight tested positive for the coronavirus before landing but had no symptoms, US health officials said

The plane landed at Atlanta’s international airport as emergency responders, and health and customs officials deployed to screen them for the coronavirus. Three people on the flight tested positive for the coronavirus before landing but had no symptoms, US health officials said

The CDC said all passengers were screened and the three passengers who were tested previously and found to be positive for COVID-19 midflight were separated from other passengers

The CDC said all passengers were screened and the three passengers who were tested previously and found to be positive for COVID-19 midflight were separated from other passengers

In another instance, the co-pilot asked her and others whether they should land in Bermuda, instead of continuing all the way to Atlanta.

The screening process for the passengers who got on the flight to the US isn’t clear, but Harrell said many of the passengers were visibly sick when they boarded the jet.

‘They just wanted us to get home so we could be taken care of here,’ she said. ‘Everybody, basically, on that flight had medical conditions.’ 

The CDC said all passengers were screened and the three passengers who were tested previously and found to be positive for COVID-19 midflight were separated from other passengers. 

Harrell said officials measured their temperatures, but only certain passengers were tested for the virus. She was cleared to fly back home to Virginia where she was told to stay home for 14 days. 

Meanwhile in Florida, Tom Sheehan was admitted to hospital a day after arriving back home following the flight after falling ill.

He and his wife Jill, who was also on the cruise, both tested positive for coronavirus. 

Tom Sheehan's family (pictured) said they were forced to say goodbye over a speakerphone because quarantine restrictions prevented them from being by his side at the Sarasota Memorial Hospital where he died

Tom Sheehan’s family (pictured) said they were forced to say goodbye over a speakerphone because quarantine restrictions prevented them from being by his side at the Sarasota Memorial Hospital where he died

According to Sheehan's adult son, Kevin Sheehan, his father and stepmother Jill (above were not told about the virus spreading on board the ship by the time the vessel reached Puerto Rico where an elderly Italian couple disembarked

According to Sheehan’s adult son, Kevin Sheehan, his father and stepmother Jill (above were not told about the virus spreading on board the ship by the time the vessel reached Puerto Rico where an elderly Italian couple disembarked

Sheehan’s health drastically deteriorated over the next week as his organs started to shut down. 

Due to quarantine restrictions, his family were unable to be by his side when Sheehan drew his last breath, instead, having to say their goodbyes over speakerphone. 

Relatives told Sheehan they loved him and thanked him for being a great husband, father and grandfather, the Miami Herald first reported.  

According to Sheehan’s adult son, Kevin Sheehan, his father and stepmother were not told about the virus spreading on board the ship by the time the vessel reached Puerto Rico where an elderly Italian couple disembarked. 

‘If the ship had told everyone what was going on, my dad and stepmom would have gotten off in Puerto Rico and flown home,’ said Kevin. ‘But they didn’t tell them. So they stayed on the ship.’

Sheehan’s son said his father, who had a pre-existing respiratory condition, began having trouble breathing while still on the ship.   

‘We think at that point my father had already been exposed,’ his son said. ‘He thought his bronchitis was coming back. We realize now the virus had got him.’

By the time he made it back to Florida, Sheehan was still having trouble breathing and had lost 20 pounds, his family said. 

‘He was terrified,’ his son said. ‘In one of his lasts texts to my sister, he said ‘if I caught this virus I’m dead.’ And he was right.’  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk