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A cruise ship that is carrying nearly 200 passengers with flu-like symptoms and the bodies of four people who have died on board is scheduled to arrive in Florida this week, reports said.
The Holland America vessel Zaandam was granted passage through the Panama Canal on Sunday and continued its voyage north to the US, Fox News reported.
The cruise liner has been in limbo for several days after a number of South American ports denied the ship entry. Four people, including one American, have died aboard the ship.
Two people on the ship have tested positive for coronavirus, but the causes of death of the four passengers has not been released.
A total of 189 people on the vessel — 116 crew members and 73 passengers — are sick with flu-like symptoms, CNN reported.
In an interview on Fox News Monday morning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he didn’t want the cruise ship to dock off the state’s coast.
EPA“We cannot afford to have people who are not even Floridians dumped into South Florida using up those valuable resources,” he said.
“We view this as a big, big problem and we don’t want to see people dumped in southern Florida right now,” he added.
