A crew member on the Jewel of the Seas informs me that the Royal Caribbean cruise ship has a total o seventy-nine (79) COVID-19 cases on the ship, amongst guests (61) and crew members (18).
The Jewel left port in Amsterdam today on a twelve day cruise to ports in Iceland and Ireland. She is scheduled to return to Amsterdam on July 14, 2022.
Seventy-nine (79) #COVD19 cases on @RoyalCaribbean Jewel of the Seas #cruse ship: 61 infected guests & 18 infected crew members . . . pic.twitter.com/aNVuIvPd2x
— James (Jim) Walker (@CruiseLaw) July 2, 2022
The Jewel has a new infection control officer (ICO) due to the increased number of COVID-19 cases aboard the ship. The officer sent a message to the crew with these instructions and comments:
- “All crew should ONLY be wearing KN95 masks correctly (over the nose and mouth). Surgical mask or double masking is not allowed at this time. Be diligent in sanitizing in your work areas AND in home areas.
- Report to medical if you have any COVID like symptoms.
- Report any suspected guest/crew who exhibit any COVID like symptoms. This will help prevent spreading amongst the ship.
- Keep your immune system up by washing your hands, eating healthy, getting a good amount of rest, exercise and enjoyable time.
- Holding each other accountable.
- Jewel has a tough itinerary with long cruises, demographics, weather, along with the amount of Back to Back cruisers (contamination pool), BUT I believe this crew is STRONG and RECEPTIVE who can really combat the virus spread. Lets all work together and be diligent in our efforts. I thank all of you in advance.”
The highly contagious BA.4 and BA.5 variants are wreaking havoc in the U.S. and Europe as virtually all cruise ships at sea are inundated with COVID. The CDC’s Cruise Ship COVID-19 Status Dashboard, for what its worth, shows that of the 94 cruise ships sailing in U.S. waters, 92 ships are designated as orange and 2 ships are yellow. There are absolutely no cruise ships designated as green with no COVID-19 aboard.
We have received numerous comments by guests and crew members on a wide range of cruise ships operated by a number of different companies stating that there have been anywhere from a few dozen to over 150 infected people on recent cruises.
If you have been on a cruise recently and there has been a COVID-19 outbreak, let us hear from you.
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Image Credit: Jewel of the Seas Dave souza – CC BY-SA 2.5, commons / wikimedia.
