Alaska Cruise Cut Short After Passenger Tests Positive for COVID-19: World News
One of the first U.S. cruises to resume sailing amid the novel coronavirus pandemic was cut short after a passenger tested positive for COVID-19.
The 63 passengers and crew aboard the UnCruise Adventures' ship were just three days into their Alaskan vacation when they were informed Wednesday the guest had tested positive and they would have to return to port.
"This was the guest's second test following a negative test result," UnCruise Adventures said in a statement. "The guest is showing no symptoms and no other guests or crew are showing outward symptoms of any kind."
UnCruise Adventures was able to circumvent the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no-sail order because its ships carry less than 250 people.
"Social distancing was actually a reality aboard our boat," UnCruise Adventures CEO Captain Dan Blanchard told ABC News, "as well as all the standard things you would think of masks, no buffets, plated meals, separated tables. So we felt, and still do feel, that the actual vessel itself and the way that our trips run, provide a very low opportunity for transmission."