Desperation is setting in for tens of hundreds of cruise ship crew members stranded on vessels world wide.
Some are affected by the coronavirus and others have died aboard their ships. Many haven’t been paid throughout their ordeal and might solely depart their ships in the event that they observe strict pointers which are troublesome to adjust to, the Related Press reported.
Many are remoted in cramped quarters.
Marvin Paz Medina, a Honduran crew member aboard the Greg Mortimer, an Antarctic cruise ship floating off Uruguay, is confined to a tiny cabin of about 70 sq. toes the place he’s been caught for greater than 35 days. “It’s arduous being locked up all day, staring on the identical 4 partitions,” he mentioned.
Paz Medina says his kids regularly ask when he’s coming dwelling.
“We're trapped, feeling this anxiousness that at any second we are able to get critically ailing,” mentioned Paz Medina. “We don't want this anymore. We need to go dwelling.”
Each nationwide and native governments received’t let crews disembark to forestall new circumstances of COVID-19 of their territories. Some cruise ships, together with 20 in US waters, have reported infections and deaths among the many crew.
The CDC and well being officers in different nations have imposed a stringent listing of situations that should be met earlier than crews can disembark.
Cruise firms should take every crew member instantly dwelling through constitution aircraft or non-public automotive with out utilizing rental automobiles or taxis. The CDC requires additionally firms to comply with felony penalties if crew members take public transportation or go to eating places on their method dwelling.
“I by no means thought this may flip right into a tragic and terrifying horror story,” Carolina Vásquez instructed the AP in an interview by way of a smartphone app from the Greg Mortimer. Vásquez and 36 different crew members have gotten sick on the ship.
Vásquez reported that she misplaced monitor of time in her windowless cabin whereas she battled the virus, usually so feverish that she feared shedding consciousness in isolation.
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