Carnival Cruise Lines has issued the following statement: “Late afternoon on Wednesday, Oct. 15, we were made aware by the U.S. CDC of a guest sailing this week on board Carnival Magic who is a lab supervisor at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. At no point in time has the individual exhibited any symptoms or signs of infection and it has been 19 days since she was in the lab with the testing samples. She is deemed by CDC to be very low risk. At this time, the guest remains in isolation on board the ship and is not deemed to be a risk to any guests or crew. It is important to reiterate that the individual has no symptoms and has been isolated in an extreme abundance of caution. We are in close contact with the CDC and at this time it has been determined that the appropriate course of action is to simply keep the guest in isolation on board.”
Carnival added: “None of Carnival Cruise Lines’ ships visit the region where Ebola cases are originating nor do our ships call in any countries with Level 3 CDC Travel Heath Notices. Any passengers or crew who have visited or traveled through Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea within 21 days of a cruise departure date will be denied boarding.
“Additionally, all guests sailing with us must answer a series of health screening questions during embarkation and, if deemed necessary, will be asked to submit to further medical screening prior to being allowed to board.
“All cruise lines continue to monitor the situation closely, along with our colleagues in the rest of the travel industry. The cruise industry is in close, frequent contact with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) for updates and guidance.”
The Carnival Magic is based year-round in Galveston and operates seven-day cruises to the Caribbean. The ship departed Galveston on Sunday, Oct. 12 and will return on Sunday, Oct. 19.
