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Celebrity Millennium (archive image): Infections found at the end of the cruise
Photo: DALE DE LA REY / AFP
The "Celebrity Millenium" is the first cruise ship to set sail from North America since the beginning of the corona pandemic - and two infections were registered on board. "Two guests who shared a cabin on board the Celebrity Millennium tested positive for COVID-19," announced the promoter Royal Caribbean. Both infected people therefore show no symptoms of the disease and are in quarantine.
According to the information, all 600 passengers and 650 crew members of the "Celebrity Millenium" had presented proof of a corona vaccination as well as a negative test result before the start of the journey.
The ship set sail from the Dutch part of the Caribbean island of St. Martin on Saturday and was supposed to dock in Barbados, Aruba and Curaçao.
According to Royal Caribbean, the corona infections were found in mandatory tests at the end of the cruise.
The contagions are also likely to be watched critically by the European cruise industry.
Since the end of May, cruises from Kiel have been offered again and the industry wants to offer cruises with shore leave again from June 16 - as in the case of the »Celebrity Millenium«.
The cruise industry is one of the sectors most severely affected by the pandemic-related closings, because of outbreaks on the trips at the beginning of the pandemic, numerous holidaymakers had to involuntarily hold out on the ships, sometimes for weeks.
The shipping companies eventually scaled back their business worldwide in 2020.
The German provider TUI made billions in losses and was saved with lavish government aid.
Last summer, the attempt at a restart at the Hurtigruten shipping company failed due to infections among passengers.
Now the organizers are hoping for a comeback in 2021 thanks to vaccinations and extensive test concepts.
apr / AFP
