Desperation is setting in for tens of thousands of cruise ship crew members stranded on vessels around the world.
Some are suffering from the coronavirus and others have died aboard their ships. Many haven’t been paid during their ordeal and can only leave their ships if they follow strict guidelines that are difficult to comply with, the Associated Press reported.
Many are isolated 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 square feet where he’s been stuck for more than 35 days. “It’s hard being locked up all day, staring at the same four walls,” he said.
Paz Medina says his children continually ask when he’s coming home.
“We are trapped, feeling this anxiety that at any moment we can get seriously ill,” said Paz Medina. “We do not want this anymore. We want to go home.”
Both national and local governments won’t let crews disembark to prevent new cases of COVID-19 in their territories. Some cruise ships, including 20 in US waters, have reported infections and deaths among the crew.
The CDC and health officials in other countries have imposed a stringent list of conditions that must be met before crews can disembark.
Cruise companies must take each crew member directly home via charter plane or private car without using rental vehicles or taxis. The CDC requires also companies to agree to criminal penalties if crew members take public transportation or go to restaurants on their way home.
“I never thought this would turn into a tragic and terrifying horror story,” Carolina Vásquez told the AP in an interview through a smartphone app from the Greg Mortimer. Vásquez and 36 other crew members have gotten sick on the ship.
Vásquez reported that she lost track of time in her windowless cabin while she battled the virus, often so feverish that she feared losing consciousness in isolation.
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May 09, 2020 at 10:36PM
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Crews stuck on cruise ships during coronavirus pandemic want to go home - New York Post
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