The cruise ship Zaandam, which wandered for days after being rejected by several Latin American countries because it was carrying passengers suffering from the coronavirus, finally docked on Thursday April 2 in Florida.

The Zaandam, which left Buenos Aires on March 7, was due to end its trip to Chile on March 21, but had to change course due to the virus. The fate of the ship, which has four dead on board, was the subject of difficult negotiations in Florida. The governor of this state where many retirees reside, Ron DeSantis, had initially opposed his arrival, saying that he did not want to be "refueled" from patients who would exhaust local resources in front of the Covid-19. He then backed off, saying that he did not realize that there were Americans on board.

And US President Donald Trump has recognized the need to evacuate the passengers. "We have to help people. They are in trouble," he said, adding that the British and Canadians among them would be evacuated.

Epidemiologist Anthony Fauci, responsible for advising the White House on the coronavirus, has also weighed on the subject. "We must take care of sick people. We just have to do it. And as soon as possible," said the expert, calling for the evacuation of healthy people.

Coral Princess to dock on Saturday

Another cruise ship, the Coral Princess, with 12 diagnosed coronavirus cases on board out of 1,898 people on board, is also sailing to the port of Fort Lauderdale where it is scheduled to dock on Saturday, 'AFP the shipping company Princess Cruises.

For Zaandam, an exit from the crisis was profiled Thursday morning: a local official, Michael Udine, had indicated on Twitter that a commission had approved in a "conditional" way the plan of landing proposed by Carnival, owner of the company of Holland America cruises.

The company operates the Zaandam and the ship sent to its rescue, including food, personnel and tests for the Covid-19, the Rotterdam. Some 400 healthy passengers have been transferred from Zaandam to Rotterdam. The two ships carry 1,250 passengers, including Americans and Canadians, and 1,186 crew members.

Disinfected buses

Four people died on Zaandam. The causes of their deaths have not been disclosed and since March 22, 250 passengers and crew have had flu-like symptoms, according to Holland America. Nine people on board tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to Carnival.

According to the landing plan, around 1,200 people who are not sick could fly home. They would be transported in "disinfected vehicles, with limited contact between people, and they would wear masks," Holland America said Wednesday.

With AFP

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