Thousands may have been exposed to coronavirus on Princess cruise ship; 62 passengers confined

[smmco]

Its not about the risk you take getting on a cruise. If they have to quaratine the cruise ship crew for 14 days after every cruise that is effectively cancelleing 2/3 of the trips on each boat. Not to mention where will they put all of the quarantined passengers? They will eventually run out of military bases and rented motels.

Something has to give. They will either give up on the quarantines or temporarily halt cruises, is my prediction.

What’s funny is we don’t even test people that come in to the hospital with respiratory illness, but we test people on cruise ships.

 

[mmmears]

Not to make light of the situation.. but holy cow what an article title/text. I am reading it, hearing the Mission Impossible theme music, picturing fully-armed, dressed in black, navy seal types, repelling down. Their rifles loaded with tranquilizer darts, stealthily moving around corners, knocking out passengers and testing them. DRAMATIC...

Have you seen the video? They posted it live when the guy was rappelling down from the helicopter.

 

[sethschroeder]

They are not testing people in normal day to day.

They are not testing every single ship either so I don't get your point?

Its not about the risk you take getting on a cruise. If they have to quaratine the cruise ship crew for 14 days after every cruise that is effectively cancelleing 2/3 of the trips on each boat (1 week cruising, 2 weeks quarantined, repeat). Not to mention where will they put all of the quarantined passengers? They will eventually run out of military bases and rented motels.

Something has to give. They will either give up on the quarantines or temporarily halt cruises.

Well I could see them forcing costs on to the cruise companies having them self cancel. Hence why you see "proactive" measures being taken now with restrictions on who can travel, taking temps, and possibly whatever else they come up with.

There is no requirement by the US or any other government to allow these cruise ships to dock and disembark. Primary onus is on the cruise lines. Its not the governments position to restrict this other than put warnings on it. It is however 100% the governments responsibility to stop the virus from entering if possible.

 

[MarkLT1]

Have you seen the video? They posted it live when the guy was rappelling down from the helicopter.

No.. I will have to take a look.. is it... DRAMATIC?!?!

 

[sethschroeder]

What’s funny is we don’t even test people that come in to the hospital with respiratory illness, but we test people on cruise ships.

There is also a difference between a hospital and someone coming in to the country on a cruise ship.

Everyone should be getting tested not just the cruise ships, the US just has more responsibility because its considered a boarder crossing. The US has been extremely slow in responding to this.

Also as an example in China they can produce roughly 300k tests daily.

 

[mmmears]

No.. I will have to take a look.. is it... DRAMATIC?!?!

There's no cool soundtrack, but here you go.

ETA - there's also an extended version:

 

[smmco]

They are not testing every single ship either so I don't get your point?



Well I could see them forcing costs on to the cruise companies having them self cancel. Hence why you see "proactive" measures being taken now with restrictions on who can travel, taking temps, and possibly whatever else they come up with.

There is no requirement by the US or any other government to allow these cruise ships to dock and disembark. Primary onus is on the cruise lines. Its not the governments position to restrict this other than put war

My point is the virus is most likely wide spread already and quarantining passengers is a waste of time. If one person tests positive in a hotel do they quarantine the whole hotel? What about all the healthcare workers that get exposed? School dorms? The opportunity to quarantine people is endless.

 

[sethschroeder]

My point is the virus is most likely wide spread already and quarantining passengers is a waste of time. If one person tests positive in a hotel do they quarantine the whole hotel? What about all the healthcare workers that get exposed? School dorms? The opportunity to quarantine people is endless.

Except on a cruise ship you are confined in that location for a number of days. In a hotel you may never even see another guest, you are not all eating together, you are not all in every entertainment venue together, and there is a TON more space.

Its also not a waste of time. People are trying to enter the country with a virus we are trying to block from spreading. Its also very much less than widespread (half the states haven't even report a case and many more states have 1 or 2 cases).

I would also be pretty pissed off if I got on a plane with someone from one of these cruise ships that is traveling home and was let back in to the US without at least some checking. Again someone at a hospital is likely local and going home. Someone on a cruise ship is traveling all over the US after disembarking.

 

[TLSnell1981]

My point is the virus is most likely wide spread already and quarantining passengers is a waste of time. If one person tests positive in a hotel do they quarantine the whole hotel? What about all the healthcare workers that get exposed? School dorms? The opportunity to quarantine people is endless.

The fact that 19 crew members tested positive...might have been a game changer. Also, healthcare workers practice infection control on a daily basis, not a fair comparison.

 

[smmco]

The fact that 19 crew members tested positive...might have been a game changer. Also, healthcare workers practice infection control on a daily basis, not a fair comparison.

We also come in contact with people before they know they're infectious. I've been exposed to TB a couple of times.

 

[Gentry2004]

Except on a cruise ship you are confined in that location for a number of days. In a hotel you may never even see another guest, you are not all eating together, you are not all in every entertainment venue together, and there is a TON more space.

Its also not a waste of time. People are trying to enter the country with a virus we are trying to block from spreading. Its also very much less than widespread (half the states haven't even report a case and many more states have 1 or 2 cases).

I would also be pretty pissed off if I got on a plane with someone from one of these cruise ships that is traveling home and was let back in to the US without at least some checking. Again someone at a hospital is likely local and going home. Someone on a cruise ship is traveling all over the US after disembarking.

So is it your point that the cruise lines will just start mass cancellations? Because sooner or later that's what will have to happen if they keep up these quarantines.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Two passengers in their 60s from the Grand Princess are back home in the Vancouver area with Covid-19.
I wonder if the authorities are trying to locate people who were on the plane back with them :/

 

[sethschroeder]

So is it your point that the cruise lines will just start mass cancellations? Because sooner or later that's what will have to happen if they keep up these quarantines.

No its my point that the US Government should not be worrying about what cruise lines and citizens want to do. They should only be there to stop further spread of the virus when people choose to enter the country (even if this is where they started). How many of these cruises are coming and going without an issue?

I see so difference between someone going on a cruise for 4 days vs going to France for 4 days.

When you come back you are screened and if they deem it tested for the virus.

To be perfectly clear pretty much every major tech company I know of has restricted travel for their employees. I travel like 100 nights a year flying every other week. Everything I am doing now is remote. If you feel you need to travel anywhere you need a business case and it gets approved at a regional (North America) level.

Again these people coming back in to the US are then needing to travel home and many will be taking public transportation of some manner to get there (bus, train, plane).

 

[smmco]

Except on a cruise ship you are confined in that location for a number of days. In a hotel you may never even see another guest, you are not all eating together, you are not all in every entertainment venue together, and there is a TON more space.

Its also not a waste of time. People are trying to enter the country with a virus we are trying to block from spreading. Its also very much less than widespread (half the states haven't even report a case and many more states have 1 or 2 cases).

I would also be pretty pissed off if I got on a plane with someone from one of these cruise ships that is traveling home and was let back in to the US without at least some checking. Again someone at a hospital is likely local and going home. Someone on a cruise ship is traveling all over the US after disembarking.

Really what about Disney World? What about the Disney Resorts? I come in contact with more people on a Disney World vacation then I do on a cruise. What about Vegas? New York City hotels? A couple of nights in either of cities and I've come in contact with more people then I would on a cruise. Maybe you sit in your hotel room on vacation, but I don't think most people do.

 

[mmmears]

So is it your point that the cruise lines will just start mass cancellations? Because sooner or later that's what will have to happen if they keep up these quarantines.

It's a mess. They are either going to have let the cruises continue, and then let people fly home and potentially infect others if they have the virus, or they are going to have to stop the cruises. The current situation where we have to quarantine the entire ship on military bases or wherever after someone gets sick can't just continue indefinitely.

 

[TLSnell1981]

We also come in contact with people before they know they're infectious. I've been exposed to TB a couple of times.

Just because you come into contact with an infected person doesn't mean you will become ill. Keep calm, wash your hands, etc...use common sense. Stay away from obviously sick people unless you're treating them and follow protocol.

 

[sethschroeder]

Really what about Disney World? What about the Disney Resorts? I come in contact with more people on a Disney World vacation then I do on a cruise. What about Vegas? New York City hotels? A couple of nights in either of cities and I've come in contact with more people then I would on a cruise. Maybe you sit in your hotel room on vacation, but I don't think most people do.

Are you really going down this road.

Again those locations don't have you reentering and leaving the US. Also there is a reason diseases spread crazy on a ship but you never hear of Norovirus in day to day life basically.

The second you leave the country and want back in there are restrictions. Also not all these ship are even being checked. To be honest I haven't heard a single ship under quarantine or checked extra by the US that didn't have the disease on board.

A hotel and a cruise ship are 100% not a like.

 

[smmco]

Just because you come into contact with an infected person doesn't mean you will become ill. Keep calm, wash your hands, etc...use common sense. Stay away from obviously sick people unless you're treating them and follow protocol.

Obviously I know all that.

 

[gatechfan99]

It's a mess. They are either going to have let the cruises continue, and then let people fly home and potentially infect others if they have the virus, or they are going to have to stop the cruises. The current situation where we have to quarantine the entire ship on military bases or wherever after someone gets sick can't just continue indefinitely.

I agree completely. I don't see the endpoint here. Every cruise trip ends with at least one person onboard sick with something. Are we going to start holding every cruise ship at bay for several days if someone is coughing on the last day while thousands get tested. And like you said, where do you put these thousands of people. For that matter, where do you put the boats if it's hundreds of ships.

So do you just ban the cruise industry for an indefinite period of time. If so, what's the time to restart cruising again? This virus will likely never go away. Do you wait 12-18 months until a vaccine or immunity is widespread? Is taking jobs away from thousands of workers and ruining the economies of small countries that depend on cruise travel worth it to try to slow down the spread of this, when it's spreading easily even without cruises?

I don't have the answers but those are the questions that have to be figured out. It feels like the only reasonable long term answer is intense screening to board and disembark if any signs of illness. Then good follow up after the cruise to notify passengers that there was an exposure on their ship.

 

[mmmears]

I don't have the answers but those are the questions that have to be figured out. It feels like the only reasonable long term answer is intense screening to board and disembark if any signs of illness. Then good follow up after the cruise to notify passengers that there was an exposure on their ship.

Yep, I don't have the answers either, but it needs to be sorted out.