Coast Guard to Cruise Ships: Prepare to Care for Sick at Sea

(Bloomberg) -- Cruise ships should be ready to care for passengers and crew with Covid-19 and other flulike symptoms at sea, the U.S. Coast Guard has advised, saying medical evacuations are contributing to strained health-care resources in the Southeast.

Foreign-flagged vessels with more than 50 people on board should plan to treat passengers for an “indefinite period of time,” according to a March 29 memo from the Coast Guard Seventh District Area of Responsibility, which includes Georgia, South Carolina, Puerto Rico and Florida, home to the world’s busiest cruise port in Miami.

The Coast Guard isn’t saying it will refuse evacuations or not let ships dock. The advisory applies to cruise ships flying foreign flags -- virtually the entire industry. Three Carnival Corp. vessels, including two with sick passengers, are steaming toward Fort Lauderdale and are due to arrive in days.

“This is necessary as shore-side medical facilities may reach full capacity and lose the ability to accept and effectively treat critically ill patients,” said the memo, which was signed by Rear Admiral E.C. Jones, commander of the Seventh District.

Two Holland America ships owned by Carnival were set to arrive Thursday in Fort Lauderdale, one bearing sick passengers. Executives pleaded with local authorities Tuesday to allow them to dock on humanitarian grounds, saying two people need emergency medical evacuation. Another Carnival-owned ship with sick passengers on board, the Coral Princess, was scheduled to arrive in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday.

‘Big Trouble’

At a press briefing Wednesday at the White House, President Donald Trump said the passengers included Canadian and British nationals, as well as Americans, and that officials were mobilizing to help, including sending medical teams on board.

“We’re taking the Canadians off and giving them to Canadian authorities,” the president said. “The same thing with the U.K. But we have to help the people -- they’re in big trouble.”

Vessels requesting so-called medevac for flu-like symptoms should speak with the Joint Rescue Coordination Centers for Miami or San Juan, according to the memo. It said they must explain the circumstances, and there must be confirmed hospital space for evacuation to be considered.

Foreign-flagged vessels, including those registered to the Bahamas, should first seek help in the jurisdiction where they’re flagged, according to the Coast Guard.

All vessels in U.S. territorial seas have to immediately report sick passengers and crew and deaths, as well as provide daily updates on the ill. If they don’t immediately report illness or death, they could be prosecuted, the memo said.

According to a Carnival statement Wednesday, the Holland America ships were expected to arrive at the boundary of U.S. waters early Thursday, but local authorities still haven’t given Holland America the go-ahead to disembark over concern about the impact on public health. According to Holland America, 45 guests currently have “mild illness” and will stay isolated on the ship until recovered, even if the others disembark.

The company said “less than 10” people need immediate critical care onshore.

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