A plane carrying stranded American and Canadian cruise ship passengers has landed in Atlanta after three of the 359 on the flight tested positive and another 13 fell ill.
The flight from France landed at Atlanta’s international airport on Friday as emergency responders prepared to screen the cruise ship passengers for the coronavirus.
US health officials say at least three people on the flight have tested positive for COVID-19 but have no symptoms.
Another 13 are sick but have not yet been tested.
The flight from France landed at Atlanta’s international airport on Friday as emergency responders prepared to screen the cruise ship passengers for the coronavirus
At least some of the passengers – many of them from the cruise ship Costa Luminosa – were being taken a hangar for screening.
Some passengers on the flight complained on social media that there were no health care workers or doctors on the plane and they had not been given food in 24 hours.
The trans-Atlantic Costa Cruises ship, carrying more than 1,400 people, had been looking for a port after reporting sick passengers on board and was allowed to dock in the French city of Marseille under strict quarantine conditions.
The Fort Lauderdale-based ship from Italian company Costa Cruises, which in turn is owned by Carnival Corp., had been 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 Costa Luminosa had left Fort Lauderdale in Florida on March 5 on a cruise destined for Venice, Italy.
Just days later, three passengers were removed from the ship in the Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico after testing positive for COVID-19, including a 68-year-old man who died last weekend.
At least some of the plane passengers – many of them from the cruise ship Costa Luminosa – were being taken a hangar for screening
Some passengers on the flight complained on social media that there were no health care workers or doctors on the plane and they had not been given food in 24 hours
The Costa Luminosa had left Fort Lauderdale in Florida on March 5 on a cruise destined for Venice, Italy. There were 240 Americans and 100 Canadians on board the cruise ship
On Monday, two European passengers who had breathing problems and one who had a fever were taken off and hospitalized during a technical stop in the Canary Islands.
Some of the passengers who boarded the ship on March 5 in Fort Lauderdale say the company refused to give them a refund and told them it was safe to travel.
Three days later, the U.S. State Department issued a warning for U.S. citizens not to travel on cruise ships.
Now that they’re in Georgia, state officials said they’re encouraging federal officials to bring commercial buses to the Atlanta airport so that troopers can escort them to another quarantine.
Ashley Ecker said her parents were on the jet after disembarking from the Costa Luminosa.
‘My mom said there was a passenger on board with medical training that was able to help but no medical staff provided by the cruise line or government,’ Ecker said.
The trans-Atlantic Costa Cruises ship, carrying more than 1,400 people, had been looking for a port after reporting sick passengers on board and was allowed to dock in the French city of Marseille under strict quarantine conditions
For most people, this coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority recover.
There were 240 Americans and 100 Canadians on board the cruise ship.
A port official said on Thursday that 639 passengers, including the Americans and Canadians, would be allowed to leave the ship in small groups, depending on the timing of their transport home.
The ship is scheduled to continue to Italy where the remaining guests will be allowed to disembark.
Cruise ships – with their tightly packed crowds of often elderly passengers – have repeatedly been hit by the coronavirus and have been banned from disembarking in several countries.
Top operators such as Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Costa Luminosa parent company Carnival Corp have all suspended voyages for extended periods and their stocks are among the worst hit in the travel industry.
