Cruise Ship Finally Docks in Mauritius After Cholera Scare

Facts

• The East African island of Mauritius granted clearance for the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship to dock at the capital Port Louis on Monday, following an onboard cholera scare. The ship arrived in Mauritius on Saturday a day early after the island of La Réunion turned it away.¹
• Initially, the ship housing 3,210 passengers and crew members was denied access to the port over 'potential health risks' after at least 15 passengers fell ill. They were placed in isolation while samples were taken and tested to determine the pathogen causing the illness.²
• While authorities feared the illness was cholera, tests revealed that the unwell passengers were suffering from gastroenteritis. Although the ship was allowed to dock, the passengers were reportedly quarantined offshore for an additional 24 hours as a precautionary measure.³
• The ship was sailing from South Africa via Madagascar and La Réunion to Mauritius, and was alerted by recent cases of cholera in the Comoros. This follows an outbreak across Southern Africa that reportedly claimed more than 3K lives across 13 countries.⁴
• Some passengers stranded on the ship criticized the management of the incident saying that they were not properly informed and that they only learned of the situation when they did not dock in La Réunion as planned.⁵
• In response, the Norwegian said that sanitation procedures aboard were elevated as a part of routine measures. For passengers who missed flights due to the delay, the company provided hotel stays for their next destination.⁶

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²CNBC, ³Daily Mail, ⁴DW, ⁵South China Morning Post and ⁶USA Today.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Conversation. Historically, ships that transport people have served as hotbeds for infectious diseases. Even troop transport ships were found to have been the disease highway for spreading the Spanish Flu of 1918. On ships, people from all over the globe tend to crowd together in theaters, pools, lines, and buffets where illness can spread at high rates. As long as cruise ships serve as a popular vacation option, the risk of contracting and spreading illness will remain high.
• Narrative B, as provided by DNV GL. Since the onset of COVID, cruise companies have worked diligently to ensure that passenger safety is their top priority. Slow operations during the pandemic allowed cruises to focus their efforts on innovative solutions that guarantee passengers fun and excitement but also guarantee a safe journey. It's difficult to ensure health and safety without reducing freedom and enjoyment, but the cruise lines have excelled and as the world opened up so did more opportunities for vacationers.

Predictions