Sick Cruise Ship Crew Taken to Miami Hospitals

The Coast Guard is overseeing medical evacuations of crew members from two cruise ships off of Miami. The ships, the Costa Magica and the Costa Favolosa, don't have any passengers on board. As many as 13 crew members on the two ships are being transported ashore on small boats and taken to area hospitals. According to Carnival, the parent company of the Costa line, as many as 30 crew members on the two ships have flu-like symptoms. According to a spokesperson with the Port of Miami, those being transported ashore have respiratory symptoms consistent with pneumonia and bronchitis.

The two ships have not been given permission to enter Miami's port and have been ordered by the Coast Guard to remain three miles offshore. In a statement on Twitter, Miami-Dade Mayor Carolos Gimenez said, "We're a global community and cannot turn our backs on those requiring life-critical care."

Another cruise ship, Holland America's Zaandam, has at least 42 sick passengers and crew members aboard and is headed to Fort Lauderdale where it's expected to arrive Monday. Members of Broward County's Board of Commissioners are debating whether to allow it to dock.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.