A cruise line that began to resume cruises in July has had a COVID-19 outbreak with 33 crew members testing positive on one cruise ship.
Four crew members were confirmed positive Friday on Hurtigruten’s expedition ship MS Ronald Amundsen. Extensive testing of the entire crew has concluded that additional 29 crew members are confirmed as COVID-19 positive. 120 of the crew have tested negative, while five will be retested before their final test results are verified.
None of the 154 crew members still on board the ship – including the 29 new confirmed positive tests Saturday – has shown any signs of disease or symptoms of COVID-19.
The initial four crew members that were infected were isolated several days ago because of other disease symptoms, showing no symptoms of COVID-19. They were routinely tested before being admitted to hospital in Tromsø, Norway Friday morning.
The cruise line is in contact with all guests that were on board MS Roald Amundsen’s July 17 and 24 departures.
209 guests from the first voyage and 178 guests from the July 24 departure will self-quarantine in line with Norwegian health authority regulations. Hurtigruten is also assisting guests with transport, accommodation, food and other needs.
Hurtigruten VP Global Communications Rune Thomas Ege gave the following statement:
“The safety and well-being of our guests and crew is Hurtigruten’s number one priority. All crew members are closely monitored and screened daily. Non-Norwegian crew members are quarantined before boarding the ship, and non-European crew need to undergo two negative Covid-19 tests before even leaving their home country.”
The July 31 sailing to Svalbard has been canceled. The cruise ship does not have another voyage scheduled until September.
