A cruise ship that was docking in Puerto Rico for the first time this Sunday brought potential first coronavirus patient to our country, a 68-year-old Italian tourist with symptoms similar to those of Covid-19, the governor reported tonight Wanda Vazquez.
But although in Puerto Rico the Italian flag boat Costa Luminosa was allowed to disembark freely, according to the director of Tourism, Carla Campos, said tonight, the Jamaican authorities did not allow any Italian citizen to Ship aboard the ground on a dock in Ocho Rios, the city where the ship stopped on February 28, four days after leaving Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on February 24.
According to the Jamaican newspaper, The Gleaner, the health minister of that country, Christopher Tufton, explained that currently his country has banned the entry of people residing in China, Italy, South Korea, Singapore and Iran. They also considered extending the ban to Japan.
In the story published on February 29, Tufton said that the other passengers of the Costa Luminosa ship were allowed to enter the country, but not the Italians.
“The restrictions are not to allow people from those countries to step on land and, whether by land or by air, those restrictions will apply, so Italians who are on the ship will not be allowed to enter,” Tufton said according to The Gleaner.
The story states that before he was allowed to dock the ship in Ocho Rios, Jamaican health authorities reviewed all passenger records to determine if anyone on the ship was ill or had a travel itinerary linked to some of the aforementioned countries.
Tufton revealed that from his analysis, it emerged that four people aboard the ship showed symptoms of colds or influenza for several days. But after investigating in greater depth, they realized that these people did not represent a risk of being infected with coronavirus.
Likewise, after completing his investigation, the ship was allowed to dock at the port, but not before waiting for several hours at sea in which they received permission from the Jamaican authorities.
Learn more about the Costa Luminosa cruise
The Costa Cruises company ship is making a special 25-day cruise, which sailed on February 24 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and will end in Marseille, France, on March 20.
When leaving San Juan this Sunday, you are en route to St. John, Antigua. He previously visited Freeport, Bahamas; Amber Cove in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; Ocho Rios, in Jamaica; George Town, in Grand Cayman; Roatán, in Honduras; Cozumel, Mexico After leaving St. John this Monday, the Costa Luminosa will cross the Atlantic Ocean to reach Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in the Canary Islands and Malaga, in Spain.
The ship premiered on May 5, 2009 and belongs to the Costa Group, the largest Italian tour operator and the only company in the industry that flies the Italian flag. It is part of the Carnival Corporation Group.
The company, established 70 years ago, is headquartered in Genoa, Italy, and has 27 ships. In Puerto Rico it was well known by the end of the 70s, because they belonged to the famous Carla C, which opened the doors for a new era in the world of cruise ships for local travelers.
It has a capacity of 2,826 passengers, a crew of 1,050 people and is considered a medium-sized ship with a displacement of 92,600 thick tons.
El Luminosa is one of the company’s ships that has made the “Travel Around the World” and has been chosen for that because of its size, which allows you to visit small ports and make the crossing of the Panama Canal, which is always included in that type of trips
As its name says, it is a boat inspired by light, it has numerous Murano glass lamps, in addition to an extensive collection of works of art on board, highlighting the “Woman Lying 2004”, a sculpture by Colombian artist Fernando Botero.
The next itineraries will be through the Mediterranean, leaving from Venice, Italy. Those trips are still published without changes so far by the coronavirus.
Reporter Raisa Rivas collaborated with this story
– .
