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Royal Caribbean sick passengers: Outbreak disrupts cruise

By Clyde Hughes    From Newsmax

Royal Caribbean has reported 47 sick passengers from a gastrointestinal outbreak on board the Grandeur of the Seas cruise ship, Fox News reported Friday.

The ship left Baltimore Jan. 2 with about 2,900 guests and staff with planned stops to Charleston, South Carolina, Orlando, and the Bahamas,according to Fox News.

Owen Torres, a Royal Caribbean spokesman, told the network that the cruise was extended from Wednesday to Friday because of the illnesses.

“Those affected by the short-lived illness have been treated by our ship’s doctors with over-the-counter medication, and we hope all our guests feel better quickly,” Torres told Fox News, adding that they do not know the cause of the outbreak so far.

“We’re taking steps like intensive sanitary procedures to minimize the risk of any further issues. The ship will undergo special cleaning procedures before it departs Saturday for her next cruise,” Torres continued.

This is the third time since December that a large number of passengers on a Royal Caribbean have fallen ill. USA Today reported on Dec. 17 that more than 300 passengers became ill on a Royal Caribbean cruise out of Florida a week earlier.

The cruise ship company told the newspaper that in that case, 332 cases of gastrointestinal illness were reported on the Independence of the Seas ship before it returned on Dec. 16 to Port Everglades, Florida after a five-night cruise.

On another cruise earlier in December, more than 200 people became ill on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship during a two-week cruise from Singapore to Australia that concluded Dec. 7, USA Today said.

Mark Veitch, a physician and director of public health in Australia’s Tasmania state, said that five of those passengers needed treatment at Royal Hobart Hospital, per USA Today.

The newspaper said Royal Caribbean Cruises employs 60,000 people from more than 120 countries who have served more than 50 million guests over more than 40 years, according to the corporate website.

IMAGE: Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Grandeur of the Seas in Bar Harbor, Maine. (Zhukovsky/Dreamstime.com)

For more on this story go to: https://www.newsmax.com/thewire/royal-caribbean-sick-passengers-outbreak/2018/01/12/id/836868/

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