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Two passengers on a Royal Caribbean
RCL,
cruise ship have tested positive for COVID-19, the company said in a press release Thursday.
This positive cases were detected on the Celebrity Millennium, owned by Royal Caribbean, and was the company’s first cruise ship to leave North America since March 2020.
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“Today two guests sharing a stateroom onboard Celebrity Millennium tested positive for COVID-19 while conducting the required end of cruise testing,” the company said on Thursday. “The individuals are asymptomatic and currently in isolation and being monitored by our medical team.”
The ship set sail with a vaccinated crew and all guests were required to show proof of vaccination prior to the trip.
“Celebrity Millennium is sailing with fully vaccinated crew and guests and following comprehensive protocols that align with our destination partners and exceed CDC guidelines to protect the health and safety of our guests,” the cruise line went on to say. “This situation demonstrates that our rigorous health and safety protocols work to protect our crew, guests and the communities we visit.”
The Celebrity Millennium is a 7-day cruise from St. Maarten, the Caribbean port of Philipsburg, with more stops in Aruba, Barbados and Curacao.
The CDC had previously stated that people should avoid cruises for most of the pandemic, but recently updated its guidelines.
“We acknowledge that cruising will never be a zero-risk activity and that the goal of the CSO’s phased approach is to resume passenger operations in a way that mitigates the risk of COVID-19 transmission onboard cruise ships and across port communities,” Aimee Treffiletti, head of the maritime unit within the CDC’s COVID-19 global migration task force, wrote in the letter to cruise leaders.
People who have tested positive for COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated, also known as breakthrough infections, are extremely rare, according to the CDC.
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Of the more than 130 million people in the U.S. who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19, there have been reports of at least 10,262 breakthrough infections, according to the CDC.
If you are vaccinated, the CDC still has guidelines to take steps to protect yourself and others around you.
Some of those protections include avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated indoor spaces, making sure your mask covers your nose and mouth when required to wear it, and washing your hands regularly.
Many of the first super-spreader events for the novel coronavirus occurred on cruise ships in 2020.
The news comes as daily COVID-19 cases and deaths have fallen for first time in 4 days.
