Cruise Ship due to dock at Roseau, turned away

The Ministry of Health, Wellness and New Investment on Sunday announced that it had turned away a cruise ship due to dock at Roseau.

St. Lucia on Saturday also denied the cruise ship with more than 3,000 passengers on board entry into the Castries Harbour after health authorities confirmed that some passengers were experiencing respiratory tract infections.

The Department of Health & Wellness there denied reports that there may have been cases of the deadly coronavirus.

A press release from Dominica’s Health Ministry said officials had worked in collaboration with other critical stakeholders and conducted a risk assessment of the cruise ship Aida Perla, which was scheduled to arrive in Dominica on Sunday, February 2, 2020.

Based on the available information, and taking into consideration the public health risk posed to Dominica, a decision was taken that the ship would not stop in Dominica as originally scheduled.

The Ministry said Dominica’s partnership with the cruise line has been strong and it valued the contributions it has been making to the tourism industry and more particularly to Dominica’s economy.

Dominica, the release stated, looked forward to welcoming this cruise ship to its shores in the near future.