Another Princess Cruises ship gets put in lockdown after passenger dies of coronavirus

Ketchikan, USA - August 27, 2015: Princess Cruises Grand Princess Docked in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Another Princess Cruises ship has been placed in lockdown after a passenger from a previous sailing died of coronavirus.

The Grand Princess was on its way to Ensenada, Mexico when it was discovered a 71-year-old man who was on board the ships previous sailing had died of coronavirus after disembarking from the cruise.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed that four Australians are on board the Grand Princess and that the Australian consulate-general in San Francisco stands ready to provide consular assistance should they request it.

According to Princess Cruises, 62 guests on the ships current voyage were on the previous sailing, which took place between 11-21 of February from San Francisco to Mexico and stayed on board the ship in-transit to its current Hawaiian voyage.

In a statement on the line’s website, it was revealed those who had been on the previous sailing would be required to remain in their stateroom until they are cleared by the ship’s medical staff.

“While there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 currently on board, the CDC [U.S. Centers of Disease Control] has identified groups of guests and crew who will be tested before arrival into San Francisco,” the statement said.

Guests and crew who have experienced influenza-like illness symptoms and guests under care for respiratory illness will also be required to stay in their rooms.

Public health officials have advised that no guests will be allowed to disembark until they have been tested.

The cruise line also confirmed the cancellation of the upcoming Grand Princess Hawaii cruise departing on 7 March, with all guests receiving a full refund. Those travelling on the current cruise will receive a future cruise credit equal to the cruise fare they paid.

This is the second time a Princess Cruises ship has been affected by coronavirus, after more than 700 people on board tested positive for the virus on board Diamond Princess while the ship was quarantined in Yokohama, Japan.

Another Princess ship also faced violent protest in Réunion as well as being denied at two different ports over coronavirus fears.

Australia imposes travel ban on South Korea

This comes as the Australian government announced it would place a further travel ban on South Kora as well as additional health screening for arrivals from Italy.

Under the new ban, foreign nationals who are in the Republic of Korea will not be allowed to enter Australia for 14 days from the time they left or transited through the Republic of Korea.

Australian citizens and permanent residents will be allowed to enter Australia but will be required to self-isolate at home for 14 days.

Silversea Cruises eases cancellation policies

Silversea has temporarily eased its new booking and cancellation policies, providing travellers with additional time to evaluate their travel plans amid coronavirus fears.

Travellers who make new bookings on sailings departing between 1 June and 31 December 2020, will be able to cancel until just 30 days prior to departure, paying only a customary administrative fee on the cruise fare. Additionally, Silversea will negotiate on guests’ behalf for the same cancellation options on other components of the booking such as air travel, hotels and shore excursions.

Featured image credit: iStock.com/urbanglimpses.

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