Face of Nation International : With a flu-like illness outbreak, four people dead and confirmed cases of COVID-19, it’s been a horrific week for the 1,243 passengers — including 247 Canadians — stuck aboard the Zaandam, a Holland America Line cruise ship currently sailing off the coast of Nicaragua.
Now passengers can add more problems to the list: Although the Zaandam was allowed to pass through the Panama Canal Sunday night, passengers still don’t know for certain where the cruise ship will dock, and when they’ll be able to return home.
The ship had plans to dock and let passengers disembark in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., but politicians there are now concerned about letting in a coronavirus-hit ship.
“We have enough to deal with, with our folks in Florida,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a news conference Monday, where he detailed the toll that COVID-19 is taking on his state.
“They’re not wanting us there, so where are we going to go?” said Zaandam passenger Cheryle Stothard, of Toronto. She and her husband have been confined to their cabin for the past week because of the illness outbreak. “Going through the Panama Canal is useless if we can’t get off in Florida,” said the 71-year-old.
Since cutting short its South American cruise on March 14 due to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, the Zaandam has been seeking a place to dock so passengers can return home. On Friday, Holland America announced that four “older” passengers had died and that many others were exhibiting “influenza-like illness symptoms.” Currently, 73 passengers and 116 crew members are sick.
The Zaandam is carrying 586 crew members — one of whom is Canadian. None of the dead is Canadian. Holland America didn’t provide a cause of death for the four passengers but said that the ship tested “a number” of patients for COVID-19 on Thursday, and two were positive. (Source : CBC News – Canada)
