Venezuela turns away cruise ship over H1N1 fears
Published:Friday | June 19, 2009 | 12:31 PM
Add Venezuela\'s Isla Margarita to the list of Caribbean islands turning away cruise ships with suspected cases of the H1N1 influenza virus, according to a report on www.usatoday.com.
Pullmantur\'s 1,350-passenger Ocean Dream arrived as scheduled at the island Wednesday, but most passengers and crew were not allowed to disembark due to an outbreak of flu among crew on the ship.
Several hundred Venezuelan passengers who had previously been scheduled to arrive on the island as their final destination were the only passengers allowed off.
The island is the third this week to deny entry to cruisers from the ship. Grenada and Barbados turned away the ship earlier on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. Two other Caribbean islands, St. Lucia and Antigua, have turned away a cruise ship this month over swine flu fears.
As of Wednesday, three crewmembers on the Ocean Dream had tested positive for the H1N1 swine flu, and 11 more crewmembers have reported flu-like symptoms. Pullmantur says no passengers have fallen ill.
The Ocean Dream is now sailing to Aruba where it is scheduled to arrive today.