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 Last Updated: Jan 26, 2014 10:50 PM ET
Health officials have boarded Royal Caribbean
International's Explorer of the Seas to investigate an illness outbreak that
has stricken at least 300 people with gastrointestinal symptoms including
vomiting and diarrhea. (Thomas Layer/Associated Press)
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 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."
Royal Caribbean
said it was "taking several steps" to compensate passengers for the
shortened trip. It also sought to assure customers scheduled for the ship's
next voyage that "all possible measures will have been taken to prevent
further problems."
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd
Thomas J. Pritzker
is a director at the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Jay Pritzker’s son, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Note: Jay Pritzker is Thomas J. Pritzker’s father, and Donald Pritzker’s brother.
Donald
Pritzker is Jay Pritzker’s
brother, and Penny S. Pritzker’s
father.
Penny S. Pritzker
is Donald Pritzker’s daughter, a
member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
the secretary of the U.S. Department of
Commerce for the Barack Obama
administration, was the national
finance chair, fundraiser for the 2008
Barack Obama presidential campaign, a co-chair for the 2009 Barack Obama inaugural committee, a fundraiser, national
co-chair for the 2012 Barack Obama
presidential campaign, a contributor for the 2013 Barack Obama inaugural committee, the host for the Barack Obama fund-raising dinner, 7/2/2008,
and Craig M. Robinson’s basketball
coach for the children's team.
R.
Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial
Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley
Austin LLP
Michelle
Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin
LLP, and Craig M. Robinson is her
brother.
Barack
Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin
LLP.
Newton
N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley
Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
Cyrus F. Freidheim
Jr. is a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and was chairman & CEO for Chiquita Brands International, Inc.
Morten
Arntzen was a director at Chiquita
Brands International, Inc., a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and is a director at the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution
(think tank), the Committee for
Economic Development, and the Harlem
Children's Zone.
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and a
benefactor for the Harlem Children's
Zone.
Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank), the Committee
for Economic Development, and the Bloomberg
Family Foundation.
D. Ronald Daniel
was a trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), and is a director at the Bloomberg Family Foundation.
Michael R. Bloomberg
is the founder of the Bloomberg Family
Foundation, was the New York (NY) mayor, and a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone.
John
J. Mack was a benefactor for the Harlem
Children's Zone, and is a director at the Bloomberg Family Foundation.
Bloomberg
Family Foundation was a funder for the CDC
Foundation.
CDC Foundation
is a foundation for the Centers 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.
Amy Robbins
Towers is a board member for the CDC
Foundation, an advisory council member for the Acumen Fund, a director at the Human
Rights Watch, was a director at the U.S.
Fund for UNICEF, and a director at the Millennium
Promise.
Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Acumen Fund, and the U.S.
Fund for UNICEF.
Andrea
Soros is a director at the Acumen
Fund, and is George Soros’s
daughter.
George
Soros is Andrea Soros’s father, was
the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society, and a benefactor for the Human Rights Watch.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, the Millennium
Promise, the Brookings Institution
(think tank), and the Committee for
Economic Development.
Cyrus F.
Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was chairman
& CEO for Chiquita Brands
International, Inc.
Morten
Arntzen was a director at Chiquita
Brands International, Inc., a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and is a director at the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Thomas J. Pritzker
is a director at the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Jay Pritzker’s son, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Jay
Pritzker is Thomas J. Pritzker’s
father, and Donald Pritzker’s
brother.
Donald
Pritzker is Jay Pritzker’s
brother, and Penny S. Pritzker’s
father.
Penny S. Pritzker
is Donald Pritzker’s daughter, a
member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
the secretary of the U.S. Department of
Commerce for the Barack Obama
administration, was the national
finance chair, fundraiser for the 2008
Barack Obama presidential campaign, a co-chair for the 2009 Barack Obama inaugural committee, a fundraiser, national
co-chair for the 2012 Barack Obama
presidential campaign, a contributor for the 2013 Barack Obama inaugural committee, the host for the Barack Obama fund-raising dinner, 7/2/2008,
and Craig M. Robinson’s basketball
coach for the children's team.
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