Reports coming forward as to why a cruise ship that was set to dock at the Ocho Rios Pier on Thusday, January 6, was denied entry into that port was as a result of the COVID-19 infection rates aboard.
According to a report in the Jamaica Observer, the Port Authority took the decision to deny the Emerald Princess the opportunity to dock after carrying out consultations with the island’s Ministry of Health while also taking into consideration the infection threshold that was instituted for cruise lines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) out of the United States.
According to the article, the PAJ is quoted as saying “one of the safety measures that has been instituted by the CDC and adopted by most countries include the infection threshold, which helps to determine whether a vessel is granted pratique. As such, if ships exceed the passenger/crew threshold count, they may not be granted pratique by the MOH”.
The ship, which had 1300 passengers on board, was on a ten day cruise having departed Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 29th. It made stops in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Colombia, and Costa Rica and was expected to make its final stop in Jamaica’s north coast before heading back to the United States. However that didn’t materialize and the ship was rerouted on Wednesday night.