14 test positive for coronavirus on Royal Caribbean ship

Fourteen crew members aboard Royal Caribbeans Oasis of the Seas have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), reports said.

According to reports, a crew member aboard the ship on Saturday recorded the Oasis of the Seas' captain making an announcement that 14 people had tested positive.

"At the moment, we have 14 that have test positive for COVID-19 onboard the Oasis of the Seas out of all we have tested," the captain said in the recording, a local media outlet reported.

On its part, the Royal Caribbean said in a statement: "The health and well-being of our crew is our foremost priority. Crewmembers who exhibited symptoms were evaluated by our medical staff and remain under close supervision. In accordance with our health and safety protocols, our crew have been asked to self-isolate in cabins while we await confirmation of initial results from public health authorities."

The company, however, did not confirm if anyone on board had tested positive.

There are more than 1,700 workers and contractors onboard the ship, the crew member said.

Although the captain did not say when the positive patients had been tested, the crew member said there were workers with flu-like symptoms aboard the ship before cruises were suspended by Royal Caribbean on March 13.

"It's a little scary because we didn't know there were so many cases on the ship," the crew member said.

The media report citing PortMiami records mentioned the Oasis docked at the port the morning of March 24 and unloaded passengers. It left port later that day. IANS