Another Princess Cruise Ship Kept at Sea Pending Coronavirus Testing of 2 Crew Members

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th March, 2020) A second Princess Cruises ship - the Caribbean Princess - is being held off the US coast while the crew is tested for the presence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the company confirmed to Sputnik on Monday.

"Princess Cruises can confirm that Caribbean Princess has received a temporary no sail order from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) after the company notified the CDC that two crew members transferred from another vessel that previously had guest who tested positive for COVID-19," the company said.

The two crew members who were on board another coronavirus-hit vessel are on lockdown in their single-occupancy staterooms pending testing, Princess Cruises said.

Both are asymptomatic, with one of the crew members disembarking the virus-stricken vessel more than two weeks ago, while the other crew member left more than ten days ago, the statement said.

The cruise ship will forego the planned stop in Grand Cayman on March 9 and will proceed to Port Everglades as soon as it receives clearance from the CDC and the local authorities.

The Caribbean Princess is the fourth Princess Cruises liner to be quarantined or stopped to be checked on suspicion of novel coronavirus infection.

On Sunday, the Regal Princess cruise ship was also held off the Florida coast, while the CDC tested two workers onboard the vessel.

On Friday, US health agencies began testing passengers aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship, which was scheduled to dock in Oakland on Monday.

The Diamond Princess cruise ship was quarantined in the Port of Yokohama in Tokyo Bay after more than 700 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus on board the liner and at least seven died.

The Caribbean Princess, which can accommodate more than 3,000 guests and up to 1,200 members, departed Fort Lauderdale on a ten-day Caribbean voyage on March 1 and was scheduled to return on March 11.