MSC Cruises has announced that MSC Meraviglia has received a “health certificate” from Mexican health officials, granted after conducting relevant medical checks on a crew member, as well as a young female passenger who were diagnosed with common seasonal flu after the ship's arrival in Cozumel, Mexico.
Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises, commented: “The Mexican authorities have followed the correct maritime protocols according to which a ship provides in advance the medical records of any passenger or crew member who has not felt well or is ill at the next port of call.”.
Health experts boarded the ship to check on the medical condition of a crew member and a young female passenger who had seasonal flu. In addition to the routine checks required to issue a ship a "health certificate," further testing was carried out on both individuals overnight as a precautionary measure.
The results were analyzed at a laboratory of the Mexican Ministry of Public Health in Chetumal, and determined that the condition of both the crew member and the passenger was in no way associated with COVID-19. The ship therefore received a "health certificate.".
The MSC Meraviglia had previously been unable to make its scheduled stops in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and George Town, located in Grand Cayman. Passengers were unable to disembark on either island because local authorities chose to disregard the very health protocols that had granted the ship its "health certificate.".
Vago also added: “We would like to thank the Mexican authorities for their professionalism and health precautions, which is the only way to demonstrate truthfulness to the local population on land, as well as to the passengers and crew on board.”
“The disappointing decisions by Jamaica and Grand Cayman to prohibit our passengers from disembarking and enjoying their islands stemmed from fear, not from best medical practice. This led to unnecessary and unjustifiable anxiety, not only for our passengers and crew on board, but also for the entire Caribbean tourism sector, and possibly even in other parts of the world.”.
Passengers aboard MSC Meraviglia will be able to spend a full day ashore today (Friday, February 28) enjoying Cozumel. The ship will depart tonight to return to its home port of Miami, Florida, on Sunday, March 1.
MSC Cruises has informed all 4,580 passengers on board this ship that they will receive a 100% refund of their cruise fare due to the disruptive nature of their vacation.
