A crew member on a Royal Caribbean ship that was delayed in New Jersey after quarantined passengers were screened for Coronavirus was found dead on board. Law enforcement sources said they believed the 54-year-old man had died of unrelated causes but they were approaching the case with an “abundance of caution”, awaiting autopsy results.
The Filipino crew member was found in an engine room last weekend. His body was kept in a refrigerated compartment until the vessel arrived in New York (Cape Liberty Bayonne NJ-NYC). The body was transported for a “rush” autopsy.
27 Chinese nationals who were sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas were tested for the virus after the liner docked in Bayonne on Friday, February 7. 4 patients were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.
The CDC said none of them had shown "any clinical signs or symptoms of coronavirus,” but one passenger had tested positive for influenza. The cruise line delayed the ship’s departure until Monday, February 10, as they are waiting for the CDC screening results.
Due to the volume of tests they were conducting for Coronavirus, they would need the next 24-48 hours to complete the test, Royal Caribbean said in a statement on Saturday.
For other Anthem 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.