by Linda Straker
- Authorities in Grenada alerted on Saturday while ship was in Barbados
- 4th cruise ship to return crew members nationals
- More than 100 cruise ship nationals should be repatriated on 10 June 2020
One cruise ship worker was repatriated on Sunday, 31 May 2020 by Seabourn Odyssey within hours of alerting Grenada that it would be in its marine space.
Health Minister, Nickolas Steele, said that the authorities in Grenada were alerted on Saturday while the boat was in Barbados. With the necessary preparations done, the female national was welcomed to the island by port and health authorities. “They informed us of the plan to bring home the young lady and we agreed. So, she arrived on Sunday and like all other returning nationals she will be placed in 14-days mandatory quarantine,” he said. Upon arrival, the national went through the mandatory standard health protocols which involved a rapid Covid-19 test.
This is the 4th cruise ship to return nationals who have been serving as crew members. The first groups arrived on 9 May (19 nationals) and on 10 May (26 nationals) and were welcomed at the Esplanade Cruise Ship Terminal. There were no positive cases and all of them have since been discharged from quarantine.
The 3rd batch of 45 nationals which arrived on 24 May 2020 had one Covid-19 positive case, and this increased Grenada’s count to 23. While confirming the arrival of Seabourn Odyssey, the health minister said the health authorities are currently preparing to welcome more than 100 cruise ship workers that should arrive on 10 June 2020.
Hundreds of Grenadians are currently stranded outside of the country because of measures taken to reduce and control the spread of Covid-19 after the country recorded its first imported case in mid-March. The country’s external borders have been closed to commercial passenger traffic since the last week in March.
Government last week announced a target date of 30 June to reopen the airport to commercial air traffic. However, Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell, said that if any group can mobilise themselves and come in as a chartered flight, they will be allowed into the country once they comply with all established health protocols.
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