‘We’re assuming people who get sick have COVID’: Holland America’s MS Zaandam still in limbo
Holland America’s MS Zaandam and MS Rotterdam cruise ships – one with ill people on board – have crossed the Panama Canal and are headed to Florida. But whether the coronavirus-infected ship and its sister vessel will be able to dock remains a question.
William Burke, chief maritime officer of Carnival Corp, which owns Holland America Line, said Tuesday during a Broward County Commission Meeting broadcast live on Vimeo that Port Everglades, where the line hopes to dock, is a “port of last resort.”
Burke said the company intends to treat those who are sick on the ship unless things progress to the point where that is no longer possible.
While nine people on Holland America’s MS Zaandam have tested positive for coronavirus, it is likely that many more on board the ship in limbo are infected.
“We’re assuming people who get sick have COVID,” Burke said.
