Virus-hit cruise ship cleared to dock in Florida

A virus-hit cruise ship with dozens of ill passengers and crew received clearance to dock in Florida on Thursday after being barred from several South American countries, concluding a harrowing time at sea for those stranded aboard.

The Zaandam, operated by Holland America Line, and its sister ship the Rotterdam approached Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, according to ship tracker cruisemapper.com, after days of protracted negotiations over their fate.

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“The Coast Guard, Homeland Security, health officials, and Broward County have reached a decision to allow the #Zaandam and #Rotterdam cruise ships to dock,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said on Twitter.

Four people have died on the Zaandam, for reasons not yet disclosed.

Rick De Pinho, a Zaandam passenger who was transferred to the Rotterdam at sea, sent AFP a recording of a message from the ship’s captain confirming port clearance had been granted.

“We’re going to miss the ship,” a jubilant De Pinho told AFP.

A total of 1,243 passengers and 1,247 crew members are stranded at sea on the Zaandam and the Rotterdam, which came to its sister ship’s aid last week, loaded with supplies.

Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, initially said he did not want the ships to dock, for fear the ill passengers would tax the state’s already strained health care system.

With more than 8,000 coronavirus cases and at least 128 deaths, the Sunshine State — home to many retirees — has the fifth-most cases in the United States.

But late Wednesday, DeSantis changed his tune, telling Fox News that he had not realized there were US citizens involved.

“We actually have Floridians” aboard the Zaandam, he said.

President Donald Trump had said the ships needed to be evacuated, saying: “We have to help the people. They’re in big trouble.”

Trump said he was working with British and Canadian authorities to repatriate their nationals who are on the cruise liners.

Trantalis said Holland America, which is owned by Carnival, had agreed to a “strict set of protocols” governing how the passengers would disembark.

“It’s all going to be done in ways that are not going to expose the people of Florida to any of the illnesses that may be on there,” DeSantis told Fox News on Thursday.

The top US expert on infectious disease, Anthony Fauci, told CBS News: “You have to take care of the people who are ill. You just have an obligation to do that, and as quickly as possible.”