Monday, January 27, 2014

Royal Caribbean cruise ended after illness outbreak



Royal Caribbean cruise ended after illness outbreak
Norovirus suspected as gastrointestinal illness with vomiting, diarrhea that infected 281 passengers
The Associated Press Posted: Jan 26, 2014 7:48 PM ET
The Royal Caribbean cruise line on Sunday ended a ship's 10-day trip in the Caribbean early after hundreds of passengers and crew members were sickened with a gastrointestinal illness.

The Miami-based company made the announcement a few hours after officials from the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention boarded the Explorer of the Seas during its U.S. Virgin Islands port call to investigate the illness and evaluate the outbreak response.

"New reports of illness have decreased day-over-day, and many guests are again up and about. Nevertheless, the disruptions caused by the early wave of illness means that we were unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting," Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said in a statement.

'The disruptions caused by the early wave of illness means that we were unable to deliver the vacation our guests were expecting.'- Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. statement

The decision to end the trip came after consultation between CDC officials and members of the company's medical team, the company said.

The CDC said earlier that 281, or nearly 10 per cent, of the 3,050 passengers aboard the 15-deck ship reported getting sick during the cruise that left Cape Liberty, N. J., on Tuesday. Twenty-two crew members also reported feeling ill, according to a Friday statement from the health agency.
Norovirus suspected culprit

On Sunday evening, the cruise line said the outbreak of the gastrointestinal illness with vomiting and diarrhea "spiked over the weekend," but it did not disclose a tally of sickened people.

Tests would have to confirm what caused the outbreak, but fast-spreading norovirus is often to blame for similar symptoms sweeping closed quarters like those on cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean said special cleaning products and disinfectants proven to kill norovirus were being used to clean the ship before it returned to the U.S. It said a full sanitization program would be carried out after the Explorer of the Seas reached its home port Wednesday.

Janet Diaz, a company spokeswoman, said CDC representatives boarded the Explorer of the Seas during the afternoon when it docked in St. Thomas, the main island of the U.S. Virgin Islands. During the previous port call in Puerto Rico, the ship underwent "extensive and thorough sanitizing" to help prevent more people from getting sick, she said.

Passengers and crew who fell ill have "responded well to over-the-counter medication being administered onboard the ship," Diaz said.

On Friday, an Explorer of the Seas passenger named Arnee Dodd tweeted that she had fallen ill aboard the ship and was quarantined with the other sick people. The Connecticut woman wrote that ship employees "put a lock down on food & are constantly cleaning everything."

U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Thomas R. Frieden is the director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the Barack Obama administration, and was the commissioner for the New York City Health Department.

Note: CDC Foundation is a foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Bloomberg Family Foundation was a funder for the CDC Foundation.
Manny Diaz is a director at the Bloomberg Family Foundation, was the Miami (FL) mayor, and a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council.
Lee H. Hamilton is a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder of the Bloomberg Family Foundation, was the New York (NY) mayor, a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone, and a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation.
George Soros was a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone, and the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Harlem Children's Zone, the Robin Hood Foundation, the Committee for Economic Development, the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Donna S. Morea was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and the EVP for the CGI Group Inc.
CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.
Morten Arntzen is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, a director at the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., and was a director at the Chiquita Brands International, Inc.
Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. was the chairman & CEO for Chiquita Brands International, Inc, is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), an honorary life director at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Michelle Obama is a director at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
R. Eden Martin is counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Thomas J. Pritzker is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a director at the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., and married to Margot L. Pritzker.
Margot L. Pritzker is married to Thomas J. Pritzker, a director at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
James S. Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Lester Crown is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the chairman for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).





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