A person died of natural causes, reportedly unrelated to coronavirus, on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship arriving in New Zealand on Wednesday, February 5.
The Ovation of the Seas passenger died on Tuesday, February 4, as the ship made her way from Sydney, Australia to the Bay of Islands, New Zealand as part of a 12-day voyage.
A spokesperson for the cruise company said the death had not been related to coronavirus. More details would not be revealed, "out of respect for their privacy." The spokesperson has not revealed if the entrance of the ship to the Bay of Islands had been delayed because of the death or fears of coronavirus.
However, Royal Caribbean said it was closely monitoring global developments about coronavirus in order to protect the health and safety of passengers and crew. The cruise line's protection measures include denying boarding to anyone who has travelled from/through mainland China or Hong Kong during the past 15 days.
Compulsory, specialised health screenings will be performed on passengers and crew who:
- Have been in contact with people who travelled from/through China/Hong Kong during the last 15 days
- Holders of China/Hong Kong passports
- Anyone feeling unwell/showing flu-like symptoms.
- Anyone with a fever/low blood oxygen rate will be denied boarding.
Royal Caribbean also cancelled its sailings to China and Hong Kong through the end of February. Full refunds are being offered to those who had been denied boarding or those on the cancelled voyages.
Ovation of the Seas continues her cruise to Tauranga, Napier,Wellington, Dunedin and Milford Sound prior to returning to Sydney, Australia on February 13.
For other Ovation of the Seas accidents and incidents see at the ship's CruiseMinus page.
For Coronavirus updates on cruise ship quarantines (infected passengers and crew) and top-pandemic countries (COVID-19 cases and deaths, daily updated statistics) see at CruiseMapper's Norovirus page.