A Scientology church ship with a case of measles aboard is headed to the port of Curacao

The Freewinds cruise ship from the Church of Scientology, which was quarantined for three days on the island of St. Lucia due to a measles case, is en route to its port where the authorities plan to quarantine it again.

The ship is expected to arrive in Willemstad, Curaçao, around dawn on Saturday, according to officials on the island and Albert Elens, managing director of Maduro Shipping, the Freewinds agent in Curacao.

When he arrives, a team of local health officials will assess the people on board before consulting international health agencies about a landing plan, told ABC News, Izzy Gerstenbluth, head of the Research and Development Unit. epidemiology of the Ministry of Health of Curacao. The vast majority of people on board the ship were crew members, including the woman who had tested positive for measles, said Gerstenbluth.

The ship is expected to arrive around 15:45 on Saturday, according to the port authorities of Curacao. There are about 300 crew members and passengers on board, according to Elens.

Merlene Fredericks-James, chief medical officer in St. Lucia, announced Tuesday that a cruise ship had docked on the island and was in quarantine while health officials were investigating a possible case of measles on board the ship. On Wednesday, the St. Lucia Police had confirmed that the ship was the Freewinds and belonged to the Church of Scientology.

Courtesy St. Lucia Times

The Freewinds website describes the ship as "a religious retreat that marks for Scientologists the pinnacle of their journey to total spiritual freedom."

The Saint Lucia Department of Health and Welfare said in a statement Thursday that the investigation conducted aboard the ship had confirmed that one person had measles.

Gerstenbluth, a public health physician and epidemiologist, said he was in daily contact with the ship's doctor, who originally thought the woman with measles had a cold. The woman was in Europe "for a while" before embarking on April 17, he said. The ship's doctor stated that she had cold symptoms on April 22, a fever the next day and three days later a rash, according to Gerstenbluth, who said the ship's doctor had isolated the woman as early as beginning.

When the ship stopped in Aruba on Monday, the ship's doctor took a blood sample that, two days later, was positive for measles, Gerstenbluth said. At that time, Gerstenbluth consulted the ship's doctor about the woman's isolation and inventory, the authorities of Saint Lucia – the next destination of the ship – having been informed.

"On the ship, you have to be a little wider and consider that the whole ship has had a contact," said Gerstenbluth.

In St. Lucia, police and the Ministry of Health said that no one had been allowed to get on or off the ship until he left Thursday night, fearing that other people would be on board. of the ship are infected.

"Measles, we know it, is a highly infectious disease.Therefore, because of the risk of potential infection, not only the confirmed case of measles, but also other people who may be on the boat at this At that point, we thought it prudent to make a decision not to let anyone land, "Fredericks-James said. "The Ministry of Health continues to work with all authorities."

The St. Lucian authorities have not revealed any information about this woman and Gerstenbluth said that he did not know his nationality.

The woman, along with the other crew members and passengers, were "stable" and monitored by the ship's doctor, said Thursday the Saint Lucia Department of Health.

"Continuous monitoring is necessary because the incubation period of measles ranges from 10 to 12 days, before the onset of symptoms in exposed individuals," said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

The ministry said it also provided free 100 doses of measles vaccine at the request of the ship's doctor.

When the authorities in Curacao investigate on Saturday, they will also look for information about people who have been in contact with the infected woman a few days before her measles positive test and who have already left the ship, Gerstenbluth said.

"This is another group we are trying to list," he said. "Who are these people, where do they live and where do they come from?"

Mr Gerstenbluth said that people still on board who had already been vaccinated or who had already had measles would probably be allowed to disembark after the authorities' investigation Saturday.

Before the departure of the Saint Lucia vessel on Thursday night, local authorities contacted their counterparts in Curacao and shared information with them, the Saint Lucia Ministry of Health said. Local officers who boarded the ship while he was in St. Lucia would continue to be monitored. Saint Lucia confirmed Friday that the ship had left Thursday night "for her port of call in the Dutch Caribbean".

An adviser to the Prime Minister of Dominica told ABC News on Thursday that the ship was planning to travel to Dominica for an event but that the event had since been canceled and that the ship was not going to ship. did not arrive.

The ship was due to leave for Aruba Sunday night, but Elens said the health inspection team and Aruba officials would determine whether the ship would stay in Curacao or continue as planned.

"[We] will have to wait and see, "he said.

The Church of Scientology has not responded to a request for comment from ABC News.