At least 5 passengers on first Caribbean cruise in months tests positive for COVID-19

At least five people who were aboard the first Caribbean cruise ship in months tested positive for COVID-19, according to a CNN report. 

JUST IN: The ship’s captain announces 5 people have tested positive for #COVID19 on SeaDream 1, the first cruise ship to embark on a voyage in the Caribbean since the #coronavirus shut down the cruise industry.

— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) November 12, 2020

NBC reported earlier on Wednesday that a passenger tested positive for the virus, citing a report from Gene Sloan, a reporter for the website The Points Guy who was on the ship.

Sloan said the captain announced that the passenger aboard SeaDream 1 tested positive on a “preliminary basis.” NBC noted it was not clear what “preliminary basis” means.

Sloan said that all passengers were asked to return to their cabins to isolate and that the ship’s crew was also isolating.

The Hill has reached out to SeaDream Yacht Club, which owns the ship, for comment. SeaDream 1 is the first cruise vessel to begin sailing in the Caribbean since March when the coronavirus was declared a pandemic. 

Coronavirus cases are now skyrocketing across the U.S., raising alarms as people move inside to escape the colder weather.

There were 53 passengers and 66 crew members onboard SeaDream 1 at the time the announcement was made, according to Sloan. 

Every passenger on board had to test negative for the virus several days prior to boarding and again on the day of boarding. Another round of testing was conducted Wednesday when the passenger tested positive. 

The ship left Barbados on Saturday and had traveled to Saint Vincent, Canouan Island, and Tobago Cays, according to Sloan. Passengers had not come into contact with island locals, he wrote. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first barred cruise sailing in mid-March, and renewed the order in April and July. It later lifted the order to allow “simulation” cruises to sail in the U.S. 

Cruise ships proved to be dangerous for the spread of the coronavirus after hundreds aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan contracted the virus in February. Several ships docked outside U.S. waters ran into similar issues before cases started escalating in the U.S. 

Updated at 5:32 p.m.