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COVID-19 outbreak hits Carnival cruise despite every guest and staff member being vaccinated

A Carnival cruise was recently hit with an outbreak of covid-19 despite every passenger being fully vaccinated

The Carnival Vista departed from Galveston, Texas on July 31st and since the outbreak, they have instituted strict mask mandates for the people on board and have directed infected guests to isolate. There is disseminated information arguing that the reason for outbreaks of Covid-19 is due to unvaccinated people.

Carnival Vista made this statement to FOX26, “We have implemented our new fleetwide mask policy early on Carnival Vista, given that we are managing a small number of positive cases on board. Our pre-established protocols of vaccinated guests and crew, testing, enhanced medical capabilities and contact tracing anticipated the potential for positive cases, and they are designed to adapt to various scenarios.”

The statement continues: “We have identified and tested close contacts and anyone who tested positive is in isolation. The decision to implement the mask policy was made in an abundance of caution, given our focus on the health and safety of our guests and crew. The voyage will continue as planned and we are dedicated to continuing to provide our guests with a fun and safe vacation.

They concluded their message, stating, “We appreciate the support of our Carnival Vista guests, who have been extremely supportive as we implemented the policy Wednesday evening.” The “small number” of positive cases isn’t a clear indicator of exactly how many cases of covid-19 there are onboard because according to Insider the ship can hold just under 4,000 passengers.

The cruise ship was reportedly only sitting at about 70% capacity (approximately 2,800 people) as a precautionary measure instituted by the cruise line. As indicated by CruiseHive, “As we all know, guest capacity has been significantly reduced by Carnival Cruise Line. Both Carnival Vista and Carnival Horizon sailed with around 70% of passengers on board. So although numbers are somewhat less than what we are used to, it certainly doesn’t mean the ships are empty.” The cruise ship is set to return to port on Saturday, August 7th. 

ARTICLE: BEBE BOUDREAU

MANAGING EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE
PHOTO CREDITS: CNTRAVELER.COM

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