Nine of the 11 cruise ships due to arrive in Victoria this month currently have confirmed COVID-19 cases on board, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The first cruise ship scheduled to dock at Victoria’s Ogden Point since 2019 canceled its Wednesday arrival over the weekend.
Princess Cruises said it was calling off the San Francisco to Vancouver leg of the Caribbean Princess’s journey, diverting the vessel to dry dock in Portland, Ore., for maintenance.
Two passengers aboard the ship, which was sailing north off California on Monday, told CTV News they contracted COVID-19 on board and were moved to the ship’s 12th floor, where infected passengers were reportedly quarantining.
The CDC has assigned “orange status“To the Caribbean Princess, and has opened an investigation into the COVID-19 situation on board, the agency said.
“Orange status” means there are enough confirmed COVID-19 cases on the vessel to meet the threshold for an investigation. The threshold requires at least 0.3 per cent of passengers and crew aboard the ship to test positive for the disease, according to the CDC.
The cancellation prompted the Greater Victoria Harbor Authority to announce that the arrival of the Holland America vessel Koningsdam on Saturday would instead mark the return of cruise ships to Victoria.
The Koningsdam was also listed under orange status on Monday, with enough COVID-19 cases on board to trigger a CDC investigation.
It’s one of five cruise ships still due to arrive this month in Victoria with enough COVID-19 cases on board to prompt monitoring by the CDC.
Four other ships scheduled to arrive at Ogden Point currently have “yellow status,” meaning less than 0.3 per cent of total passengers and/or crew are currently infected with COVID-19.
Two other ships scheduled to arrive near the end of the month were listed under “green status” Monday, with no confirmed COVID-19 cases on board.