The Celebrity Apex - J. Urbach / 20 Minutes

The cruise is no longer fun at all. Confined for several days in their boat, the crew of the "Celebrity Apex" is now confronted with the epidemic of coronavirus. According to the regional health agency of Pays-de-la-Loire, seven people were indeed tested positive for Covid-19, among the 1,407 people who are on board.

The alert was given Tuesday evening by the commander of this luxury liner, which was to be delivered in recent days to its American shipowner Celebrity Cruises. After the cancellation of the ceremony and pending a decision, the boat, built at the Saint-Nazaire shipyards, remained at the dock. He had been asked not to go out but inside, life was going on according to a video which circulated on social networks last weekend, showing members of the crew partying in the disco of the ocean liner.

A "health situation assessment"

"The situation is being followed with the greatest attention," Jean-Jacques Coiplet, director of ARS, said on Thursday evening. A doctor on board follows the patients and a containment order has been issued, the air conditioning has been cut to limit the risk of spread. The people are for the moment still on the boat but have been isolated from the others. "

However, an "assessment of the health situation" of each employee, including three French, must be organized before considering their possible landing. "Their return to their territories, inside and outside Schengen, will then be organized", according to the ARS, which specifies that around sixty nationalities are represented among the personnel concerned.

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  • Ocean liner
  • Coronavirus
  • Nantes
  • Saint Nazaire
  • Containment
  • Society