FrenchieGirl
Senior Moderator
Cruise ship turned away from Grenada over swine flu fears
Add Grenada to the list of islands turning away cruise ships over swine flu worries.
The Grenada Broadcasting Network reports the Southern Caribbean destination turned away Pullmantur's Ocean Dream on Monday after learning that about 40 crew members on the ship were exhibiting flu-like symptoms.
The news outlet says the 1,412-passenger ship called at Grenada's port of St. George's Monday morning but no passengers or crew were allowed to get off. A Grenada health official tells the Broadcasting Network the decision was taken as a precautionary measure.
The incident comes just five days after two islands, St. Lucia and Antigua, turned away a Royal Caribbean ship over swine flu fears. Several crew members and a passenger on the 3,114-person Adventurer of the Seas had tested positive for infuenza before the ship arrived, though later tests revealed the illness was not the H1N1 swine flu strain.
Pullmantur is a sister line to Royal Caribbean aimed at the Spanish-speaking market.
A number of Caribbean islands have yet to record a single case of swine flu and are taking sometimes drastic measures to keep it that way. In some cases, the islands have limited medical facilities and worry about their ability to manage an outbreak, even though most cases of the flu to date globally have been mild. In a separate story today, the Grenada Broadcasting Network quotes a health official who notes the island's medical center has just one respirator and would be unable to treat patients with serious cases.
Other destinations as far away as Oman also have turned away cruise ships over swine flu fears in recent weeks.
Add Grenada to the list of islands turning away cruise ships over swine flu worries.
The Grenada Broadcasting Network reports the Southern Caribbean destination turned away Pullmantur's Ocean Dream on Monday after learning that about 40 crew members on the ship were exhibiting flu-like symptoms.
The news outlet says the 1,412-passenger ship called at Grenada's port of St. George's Monday morning but no passengers or crew were allowed to get off. A Grenada health official tells the Broadcasting Network the decision was taken as a precautionary measure.
The incident comes just five days after two islands, St. Lucia and Antigua, turned away a Royal Caribbean ship over swine flu fears. Several crew members and a passenger on the 3,114-person Adventurer of the Seas had tested positive for infuenza before the ship arrived, though later tests revealed the illness was not the H1N1 swine flu strain.
Pullmantur is a sister line to Royal Caribbean aimed at the Spanish-speaking market.
A number of Caribbean islands have yet to record a single case of swine flu and are taking sometimes drastic measures to keep it that way. In some cases, the islands have limited medical facilities and worry about their ability to manage an outbreak, even though most cases of the flu to date globally have been mild. In a separate story today, the Grenada Broadcasting Network quotes a health official who notes the island's medical center has just one respirator and would be unable to treat patients with serious cases.
Other destinations as far away as Oman also have turned away cruise ships over swine flu fears in recent weeks.