“There’s a lot of cleaning going on”: Family is stuck in the ocean on the cholera ship

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The Verdaas family from Breda in the Netherlands should actually be in Mauritius by now and enjoying the warmth, maybe do a little snorkeling. Mother Esther boarded the holiday paradise with her husband and two daughters full of anticipation – to the shock: a few days ago there was an announcement on board due to increased cases of gastrointestinal problems and suspected cholera. The authorities decided: no one will leave this ship. An update followed on Monday afternoon: the ship was allowed to moor. The first passengers should be able to disembark at 6 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning.

The family tells RTL News about life on board the quarantine ship. According to the mother, the captain of the ship has already announced that the cases of illness are not cholera. However, this has not yet been confirmed by the shipping company. Still, the passengers can do what they want: “A lot of cleaning is done. We can walk around here freely. We can do whatever we want. Everything is open. The pool, the bar.”

Heard about cholera through the media

However, the Dutch did not hear about the possible outbreak of the “Blue Death” from the crew, but rather from the media. The American shipping company does not want to make a statement on this until Tuesday.

Southern Africa has been struggling with one of the worst cholera outbreaks in years for months. By mid-January, approximately 200,000 cases of illness and more than 3,000 deaths had been reported in the thirteen affected countries.

Family is not afraid

On the ship itself, you only occasionally notice the widespread gastrointestinal illness: people keep a certain distance from each other and some passengers walk around with face masks, the family reports. Hygiene on the ship is very good, and Corona would have left a positive mark with additional measures. The restaurant in particular is cleaned very well.

They are not afraid, the mother emphasizes. They just wanted to explore Mauritius, but now that’s not possible. “The most important thing is that we are healthy and have a lot of fun together. It remains to be seen when we can go ashore. With a sunny smile, we are confident that we will be able to fly to the Netherlands again soon.” (Unpleasant)

Source: Blick