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More than half of the passengers and crew aboard an Aurora Expeditions cruise to Antarctica have tested positive for coronavirus, the ship’s operator said Tuesday.
Of the 217 people tested aboard the Greg Mortimer cruise ship, 128 came back positive for COVID-19, while 89 tested negative, the Aurora Expeditions cruise line confirmed. The Australia-based company said all passengers and crew that have tested positive did not have fevers, and were asymptomatic as of Tuesday.
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Aurora Expeditions is now looking to disembark passengers — the majority of whom came from Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and North America — and arrange charter flights home “as soon as possible.”
On Tuesday, Aurora Expeditions confirmed that of the 217 people tested aboard the Greg Mortimer cruise ship, 128 came back positive for COVID-19. (Pablo Porciuncula/AFP via Getty Images)
The Greg Mortimer, which is currently off the coast of Uruguay, departed on March 15 for a voyage to Antarctica and the island of South Georgia, but has been anchored off the coast near Montevideo since late March, after authorities in Uruguay blocked the ship from disembarking over coronavirus concerns, the Sydney Morning Herald reported last week.
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Since that time, local medical teams boarded the ship to conduct tests for COVID-19. By Monday, Aurora Expeditions said 81 of those onboard had tested positive, and 90 cases remained pending. On Tuesday, the number of positive cases rose to 128.
Since the beginning of April, six people have also been transferred to hospitals in Uruguay for further medical care, though Aurora Expeditions said “all six people ashore are stable.”
A 75-year-old Australian passenger is seen being transferred to a hospital in Montevideo, Uruguay, amid an outbreak on the Greg Mortimer cruise ship. Aurora Expeditions, which operates the cruise, said all six people who were transferred to hospitals are currently in stable condition. (Martin Silva Rey / AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images)
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The cruise line is now working to disembark passengers, but said it would be “likely” that the Australian and New Zealand passengers — both those who tested positive and negative for COVID-19 — will depart first aboard the same chartered flight to Melbourne later this week. Passengers from Europe and North America, however, will need to remain on the ship until they test negative for COVID-19.
The cruise line confirmed it has also asked the Australian government for financial help in chartering a specially equipped Airbus plane, estimating that the cost to fly each Australia-bound passenger home equates to around AU$15,000, or about $9,300.
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Amid the ordeal, Aurora Expeditions thanked Uruguayan health officials for their help.
“As always, we would like to acknowledge the Uruguayan public health and infectious diseases team for their ongoing time and support,” the cruise line said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Aurora Expeditions added that Uruguay was also sending another doctor to serve as an onboard medical professional on the Greg Mortimer.
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