SEATTLE, Washington: Passengers on a Carnival Cruise Ship that docked in Seattle this week said more than 100 passengers tested positive for COVID-19, which overwhelmed the ship.
Many people are in quarantine at Seattle-area hotels after testing positive or being exposed to someone with the virus.
According to news reports, Carnival Cruise Line would not confirm how many people tested positive, but said there were a number of positive cases.
Darren Sieferston, a passenger on the cruise from Miami to Seattle, who is in quarantine after testing positive, said the crew’s response was chaotic.
“They did not have enough staff to handle the emergency that was happening, period. They were overwhelmed and they did not have a backup course in how to handle about 200 people affected with COVID. We all suffered,” Sieferston said, as reported by KING 5 news.
Some passengers told KING 5 they waited hours for meals, were not properly isolated, and could not get hold of medical staff.
“We could not call anybody. Basically, we sat in the room, you call and it would ring, ring, ring and ring all day long,” Sieferston added.
According to Carnival, there were no serious health issues, and passengers are required to be fully vaccinated and tested.
