Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would be willing to allow passengers who are Florida residents to disembark from the Holland America cruise ship Zaandam, which is hoping to dock soon at Port Everglades after being turned away from other destinations due to coronavirus.
What We Know:
- DeSantis had previously said he didn’t want passengers from the ship disembarking in Florida, but on Wednesday afternoon said he would be OK with those who are residents of the state returning home.
- President Donald Trump implied in comments Tuesday night that he was going to talk to DeSantis and may intervene.
- Meanwhile, hundreds of passengers and crew members aboard the Zaandam and two other Holland America ships, also hoping to dock in South Florida, remain in limbo.
- Laura Gabaroni of Orlando, Florida, told the Associated Press, “It’s been a trying time, especially because of the many ups and downs we’ve seen along the way. We are unable to leave our rooms, haven’t had fresh air in days.”
- “The captain said something like, ‘This is not a trip anymore. This is not a cruise. This is a humanitarian mission,’” said Brazell of Tappahannock, Virginia.
- After several ports in South America refused to let the Zaandam dock, Holland America sent a second ship, the Rotterdam and transferred onto it nearly 1,400 people who appear to be healthy. About 450 guests and 602 crew members remain on the Zaandam.
“We cannot afford to have people who are not even Floridians dumped into South Florida using up those valuable resources, so I’m in contact with the White House on this, I’m in contact with local county officials in both Broward and Miami-Dade. But yes, we view this as a big, big problem and we do not want to see people dumped in Southern Florida right now.”- DeSantis
- Coast Guard Capt. Jo-Ann Burdian said Tuesday, “there are no great choices left. These are all tough outcomes … the last thing we want to do is execute a plan that someone doesn’t agree with,” she told the Broward County Commission during an emergency meeting on the fate of the ships.
- Holland America President Orlando Ashford, said in a statement, “we are dealing with a ‘not my problem’ syndrome. The international community, consistently generous and helpful in the face of human suffering, shut itself off to Zaandam leaving her to fend for herself.”
- The Coast Guard said the company is responsible for arranging transportation and medical care for any sick passengers.
- Cheryl Deeks, a passenger from U.K. who was transferred to the Rotterdam, earlier told Sky News: “I am disappointed to hear that America is even debating whether we should land or not. I can’t understand that. It’s a humanitarian rescue. We need to get to our homes. There are lots of Americans on board. It is America’s own port.”
The cruise line confirmed to Fox News on Wednesday that since March 22, a total of 83 guests and 118 crew members had reported flu-like symptoms, but that only 14 guests and one crew member were still showing those symptoms.
