The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said six passengers testing positive for COVID-19 on a Royal Caribbean International cruise which left The Bahamas last week is not a cause for alarm noting the passengers did not interact with locals.

Four vaccinated adults and two unvaccinated minors tested positive for the virus during an end-of-trip screening Thursday on RCI’s Adventure of the Seas.

Of the adult passengers, three were asymptomatic and one had mild symptoms.

Yesterday, Mr D’Aguilar described what happened as the new normal for the cruise industry and the world, adding the proper protocols kicked in.

“The press tends to latch on to every story of positive cruises on a cruise ship but we obviously in our discussions with the cruise lines devised protocols to deal with such circumstances as this,” he said. “This is obviously going to happen from time to time and there were going to be positive cases and the question is, are the protocols in place sufficiently to address the problems? We feel that they are.

“When persons are identified on the cruise ships as positive through testing protocols, they are quarantined and when they get to the port, they are airlifted immediately using a private aircraft. They are put into transportation from the ship and disembarked from the ship. It works very smoothly. We believe there is zero risk to citizens and residents of The Bahamas. It is no cause for alarm.

“Cruise ships have testing protocols in place. Persons are tested on ships according to their protocols. Obviously if you are in the cruise business you are well aware that these situations will arise, and we’ve had a lot of time to think about how you are going to deal with them. This is a routine occurrence. It is not something that when it happens you have to jump up and say ‘Oh Jesus we’re at the end of the world’. We will probably be dealing with this for the next two to three years. This is going to be with us until we lick this virus and lord knows how long that will be.”

In June, two teens tested positive for COVID-19 on board an RCI cruise that ported in Grand Bahama. All crew and passengers 16 and older are required to be vaccinated for RCI cruises.