AIDAnova passengers moored in Lisbon for five days, finally disembarked on early Monday. The AIDAnova, carrying 2,844 passengers and 1,353 crew members, docked in Lisbon on Wednesday. On January 2, Captain Jens Janauscheck, announced that the voyage would be cut short and guests will be flown home.
The ship was en route to Madeira for New Year’s Eve but was unable to continue after 52 crew members tested positive for COVID19 between Wednesday and Friday. All crew members are vaccinated. By Monday, AIDAnova had 68 COVID19 cases including a handful of passengers.
AIDA Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corp, said that passengers who tested positive had mild symptoms or were asymptomatic. It added that individuals over 12 years old completed their vaccine doses and tested negative via rapid antigen test before departure. AIDA Cruises said that it followed “comprehensive health and safety protocols” for all cruises.
The cruise line transported the passengers who tested negative in the last 48 hours via bus to the city’s airport. The AIDAnova is currently undergoing disinfection procedures. It will resume operations on January 15.
Avoid Cruises Regardless of Vaccination?
On December 30, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned people to avoid cruises. This warning includes those who already completed their vaccine doses as COVID19 cases surge due to the omicron variant.
The agency is also investigating or already investigated more than 90 ships sailing in US waters for having COVID19 cases. CDC starts investigating if at least 0.10% of individuals aboard cruise ships tested positive for COVID19.
According to the Cruise Lines International Association, “The decision by the CDC to raise the travel level for cruise is particularly perplexing considering the cases identified on cruise ships consistently make up a very slim minority of the total population onboard”.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal commented that the CDC should stop ships from sailing. He said that it is “repeating recent history as petri dishes of COVID19 infection”.
