MIAMI — Royal Caribbean Group’s Celebrity Cruises said there would be no changes to its summer sailing schedule, a day after two people onboard its Millennium ship tested positive for COVID-19.
Cruise operator Royal Caribbean said the two guests onboard on Celebrity Millennium who tested positive for coronavirus were asymptomatic and put in isolation.
The guests, who were sharing a room were monitored by the ship’s medical team, the cruise operator said, adding that it was conducting contact tracing, expediting testing for all close contacts of the individuals.
Celebrity Millennium was one of the first cruises in North America to restart sailing last week, after more than a year.
Royal Caribbean started sailing in June after meeting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) comprehensive guidelines that included a fully vaccinated crew and everyone over 16 presenting proof of vaccination against COVID-19.
Cruise operators are among the last to return to their pre-pandemic operations as the CDC laid out strict guidance earlier this year for the cruise industry for resuming trips, after some ships became hotbeds for the virus last year.
—REUTERS
Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli
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