Around 200 crew members employed on the Disney Wonder recently tested positive for COVID-19, according to a half-dozen employees on the ship who wish to remain anonymous.
The Disney Wonder previously sailed from New Orleans on March 6th on a Panama Canal cruise. It arrived at the the Port of San Diego, where all the passengers disembarked on March 19th and 20th. The CDC was notified about COVID-19-positive travelers who had symptoms while on board the ship. We subsequently learned that a large number of former guests on this Disney cruise ship developed COVID-19, including at least three guests who died due to the virus. Disney also knew that a guest who had cruised on a prior cruise on the Wonder to Mexico from February 27th to March 2nd had tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from that cruise, which has been confirmed by the CDC. We reported on these developments in an article titled Former Guests on the Disney Wonder Test Positive For COVID-19 – Did Disney Know that a Guest on a Prior Cruise Tested Positive?
The captain of the Disney Wonder announced over the ship’s intercom six weeks ago that 38 crew members on the cruise ship tested positive for the virus. We reported on this news in our article Thirty-Eight Crew Members on Disney Wonder Reportedly Test Positive for COVID-19. The crew on the Wonder was re-tested last week. Around 200 crew members tested positive for COVID-19, according to several crew members. We requested a comment from Disney regarding the results of the testing of its crew members on theWonder but we have not received a response.
The crew members whose test results were negative were sent back to work per the captain’s announcements. Yesterday, the captain informed the crew that only those crew members who are essential to the operation of the ship, and who tested negative, will be assigned work. The crew is still required to exercise social distancing, wear masks outside of their cabins, and return to their cabins after work.
The captain of the Wonder informed the crew yesterday that three U.K. crew members will be repatriated tomorrow and a “small group” of crew members (whose nationalities were not mentioned) will be repatriated on Thursday. There are many hundreds of crew members who are uncertain when or how they will be repatriated. To date, the CDC Cruise Ship Crew Member Disembarkations data indicated that Disney has submitted plans to repatriate only the following crew members from the Disney Wonder pursuant to the CDC guidelines: May 3 – 3 U.S.; May 8 – 3 Filipinos; and May 12 – 24 Indonesians and 1 U.S.
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Photo credit: Disney Wonder (at PortMiami) – Jim Walker