Cruise passenger dies of COVID-19 amid outbreak on ship

A cruise passenger died of the coronavirus after an outbreak of COVID-19 on a Carnival Cruise Line ship.

The person boarded the Carnival Vista cruise ship in Texas on July 31 and the ship headed to Belize, where the person received medical treatment. She was later evacuated to Tulsa, where she ultimately died.

“We are very sorry to hear about the death of a guest who sailed on Carnival Vista,” the company said in a statement.

“The guest almost certainly did not contract COVID on our ship, and she was assisted with expert medical care on board and was ultimately evacuated from Belize after we provided a resource to her family,” the company added.

The New York Times reported the victim was a 77-year-old woman from Oklahoma and she died Aug. 14.

Belize’s Tourism Board released a statement assuring its citizens strict protocols were followed with the victim and no positive COVID-19 passengers are allowed in the country without special permission.

“A recent passenger onboard a Carnival ship presented health difficulties due to COVID-19. Based on these protocols, the passenger was allowed to disembark to receive the urgent care required and was subsequently medically evacuated via air ambulance,” the board stated.

This is the first time a positive COVID-19 individual was granted an emergency request to enter the country since cruises began again.

There were 27 people on board the ship who tested positive for the virus, including 26 crew members and the one passenger who died. All individuals were vaccinated, the Belize Tourism Board has said.

There were a total of 2,895 guests and 1,441 crew members on board.