Mexican authorities allowed HAL-Holland America Line's ship ms Zuiderdam to dock on Tuesday, December 28, and disembark passengers, despite the COVID outbreak onboard, after they pledged to keep the country open only to liners that follow the sanitary precautions.
The state and federal authorities said ms Zuiderdam carried ~2000 people (1200 passengers plus 800 crew) and docked at Port Guaymas (northern Mexico, Sonora state).
The statement covers the conditions required for permitting the cruisers to dock, saying they'll be accepted as long as WHO-World Health Organization international regulations are followed. The people infected with COVID on ships who need medical attention will receive it, and milder/asymptomatic cases will be isolated.
Meanwhile, HAL stated that only "a small number" of fully vaccinated passengers and crew on ms Zuiderdam had tested positive for COVID, all with mild/no symptoms. They had been isolated, while the close contacts had been quarantined.
MS Zuiderdam is currently sailing on a 10-day "Mexico Sea Of Cortez Holiday Cruise" scheduled to return to homeport San Diego CA on January 2.
Jose Luis Alomia (Sonora's Health Minister) revealed during a press conference that 30 people had tested positive for COVID on ms Zuiderdam, consisting of 28 crew members and 2 passengers, who were all in isolation.
For more ms Zuiderdam incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.