The number of COVID cases on Phoenix Reisen's cruise ship MS Amera in Bremerhaven Germany rose to 9.
The head of the Bremerhaven health department, Ronny Mockel, fears there were more infected people among the ~370 crew. Some test results are still pending.
Initially, the Coronavirus was found in 5 of the crew, with the delta variant confirmed in 2 of the infected.
The outbreak is dynamic and mainly due to the delta variant, Mockel said. 7 infected people came to Germany by plane. The cases were then discovered during corona tests onboard the ship. The contact persons could be fully identified. The authorities are more concerned that the virus in the other 2 cases was found in crew who have been onboard for some time.
According to the cruise company, numerous crew are currently traveling from different countries in order to get the ship ready for take-off. The security requirements are high. Each crew member has to present a negative corona test on-site. Another test takes place when the crew goes onboard. The employees would then be quarantined for 3 days before they are allowed to move freely.
MS Amera is currently without cruise passengers in Bremerhaven and is scheduled to set sail to Denmark on August 3.
For more Amera accidents and incidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.