The Norwegian Breakaway that disembarked in New Orleans over the weekend had 17 people who tested positive for COVID19. This also includes one probable omicron case.
According to the Louisiana Department of Health, Norwegian Cruise Lines management confirmed 10 cases on Saturday and an additional 7 more on Sunday. In a statement issued by Norwegian, they announced that they identified a “handful” of cases on the Norwegian Breakaway. However, all of them are asymptomatic.
The cruise line’s spokesperson said that “One of those cases, which was a South African crew member who was in isolation for the entirety of the cruise is suspected to have the COVID19 Omicron variant”.
More than 3200 people were on the Norwegian Breakaway. The ship departed from New Orleans on November 28 and stopped in Belize, Honduras, and Mexico before returning to New Orleans on Sunday.
According to cruise line’s policy, all passengers and crew members need to get vaccinated to board the cruise ship. Both passengers and crew members will need to show proof of vaccination plus complete on-site testing procedures.
Norwegian announced that individuals who tested positive had to isolate and quarantine. Those who tested positive can either travel via their personal vehicle to their residence or self-isolate in accommodations provided by Norwegian.
Norwegian conducted contact tracing protocols to identify close contacts of the identified cases. Also, everyone on board had to test before they disembark.
Norwegian said in a statement that “We take this matter extremely seriously and will continue to work closely with the CDC, the office of Governor John Bel Edwards, the Louisiana Department of Health as well as the city and port of New Orleans”.
Norwegian also clarified that there will be no changes in the scheduled sailings of the Norwegian Breakaway. However, Norwegian offered passengers for the December 5 voyage to cancel without penalty.
Louisiana also announced its first case of the omicron variant on Sunday. Officials clarified that it was unrelated to the cruise.
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