26 crew, 1 passenger aboard Carnival Vista test positive for COVID-19

Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Carnival Vista reported that of its 2,895 guests and 1,441 crew, 27 crew members and 1 passenger tested positive for COVID-19 while entering Belize this week.

The Belize Tourism Board announced Wednesday that all passengers with a negative COVID-19 test will be required to present proof to health authorities, and those without proof of a negative test will be subject to random testing.

"We are pleased to inform that our personnel from the Ministry of Health and Wellness also carried out an inspection of the protocol onboard the Carnival Vista this morning and are satisfied that they have been able to verify that the measures put in place by the ship are meticulous and deemed highly effective," the press release stated.

The positive cases were isolated and more than 1,000 people were tested during contact tracing. Belize authorities said that 99.98% of the crew were vaccinated and 96.5% of passengers were vaccinated. Most of the cases are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, and all are vaccinated.

Additional protocols like mask-wearing and the use of N95 masks by crew were put in place. According to Belize's local protocols, passengers won't be allowed to leave the ship if the total number of positive cases exceeds 2% of the ship's passengers.

The ship was the first ship to start sailing for Carnival on July 3. It left from Galveston, Texas and arrived in Cozumel Thursday with all active cases in quarantine or isolation on board.