Following is a statement issued by Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. regarding the announcement that two passengers on board the cruise ship Celebrity Millennium have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).
Celebrity Millennium officials expressed gratitude to Barbados on Monday when the cruise liner docked here on its first trip in over a year.
“The Celebrity Millennium departed its homeport of Philipsburg, St Maarten for a 7-night cruise itinerary and docked in Barbados on Monday, June 7, 2021 as its first port of call. All passengers were tested prior to embarkation and were negative at that time. Since leaving Barbados, the ship made calls at three other destinations, and is currently returning to St Maarten where the cruise will end on schedule.
“We have been informed by our partners at Celebrity Cruises that during the end of cruise testing, while en route back to St Maarten, two passengers of the over 1 200 fully vaccinated passengers and crew members on board the ship, tested positive for COVID-19. Both are asymptomatic and doing well. We wish them a speedy recovery.
“The fact that this occurred at the end of routine cruise testing, reinforces for us the strength and importance of adhering to all protocols at all times. Rigorously adhered to protocols enable everyone to resume life’s experiences in a manner that is as close to normal as possible, while remaining conscious that COVID remains with us and we therefore must adapt.
“This is the basis of our approach at all times and is why we resumed cruising cautiously with this first trial cruise. For cruising, we have developed and applied rigorous border entry protocols and processes such as bubble tours, to allow us to effectively manage movement safely and provide for contact tracing. It is critical that we all continue to follow the protocols as we interact locally and welcome travellers.” (PR)
