Two Children Aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Test Positive for COVID-19

The Royal Caribbean cruise ship "Adventure of the Seas" is docked in the island of Cozumel, off the coast of Mexico's Quintana Roo State, on June 16, 2021. Elizabeth Ruiz/AFP via Getty Images

Two Florida children aboard a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship called “Adventure of the Seas” tested positive for the CCP virus, the company announced.

Both guests, who are under the age of 16 and unvaccinated, were placed in quarantine “immediately,” the Royal Caribbean Group said in a statement on Thursday.

One of the children experienced mild symptoms from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus while the other child is asymptomatic.

The children and their travel party were disembarked early from the cruise at a port in the Bahamas and sent back to their Florida home by a private flight arranged by the company, the President & CEO of Royal Caribbean, Michael Bayley, said on social media.

The travel party of the children was “quickly identified” by crew officials and everyone was vaccinated against the CCP virus, Bayley said, adding that everyone in the group tested negative.

“Ninety-two percent of our guests on Adventure are fully vaccinated and the remaining 8 [percent] are under 16 years old,” the company said. “One hundred percent of our crew are fully vaccinated.”

According to the company’s website, the ship has a guest capacity of up to 3,114 and houses “a sea of revolutionary onboard amenities” that include an ice-skating rink, a rock-climbing wall, and a theater big enough for 1,200-plus people.

Thursday’s announcement comes after earlier this month during a separate incident, two passengers tested positive for the CCP virus on the Celebrity Millennium cruise ship at the end of the trip, which the cruise line said was carrying “at least 95 percent vaccinated guests.”

The 'Celebrity Millennium' ship is seen docked in Hong Kong on March 16, 2013. Dale de la Rey/AFP via Getty Images

The trip marked the first cruise in North America since 2020. The two passengers were sharing a stateroom onboard the ship and tested positive at the required end-of-cruise testing, according to the cruise line. The test is completed 72 hours before returning to the United States.

“The individuals are asymptomatic and currently in isolation and being monitored by our medical team. We are conducting contact tracing, expediting testing for all close contacts, and closely monitoring the situation,” the announcement read.

All passengers were required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, within 72 hours before sailing, according to the cruise line, which said that its protocols exceed the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC refers to COVID-19 cases that occur after a person is fully vaccinated as vaccine breakthrough cases.

“Vaccine breakthrough cases are expected,” the health agency said on its website. “COVID-19 vaccines are effective and are a critical tool to bring the pandemic under control. However, no vaccines are 100 [percent] effective at preventing illness. There will be a small percentage of people who are fully vaccinated who still get sick, are hospitalized, or die from COVID-19.”

Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report.

From NTD News