Covid cruise ship case: six passengers tested positive on Royal Caribbean trip

(CNN) – Six guests have tested positive for Covid-19 on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas cruise ship, the cruise line confirmed on Friday.

Four of the guests are vaccinated and two are unvaccinated minors, Royal Caribbean International said in a statement. The seven-night cruise departed from Nassau, Bahamas on July 25.

One of four guests vaccinated has mild symptoms, the company said, and three are asymptomatic. The four do not travel together.

The two unvaccinated minors were part of the same party and are asymptomatic, according to Royal Caribbean.

“The guests were immediately quarantined, and their immediate travel party and all close contacts were traced and all tested negative,” the cruise line said.

The infections were detected during routine tests which are required of all guests before returning home.

The six guests and their immediate travel groups will disembark in Freeport, Bahamas on Friday. They will return home separately “by private transport,” Royal Caribbean said.

All travelers aged 16 and over were required to be fully vaccinated and test negative for Covid-19 before boarding Adventure of the Seas, and all crew members are fully vaccinated.

Children not eligible for vaccinations had to take three tests, according to the Royal Caribbean website: a PCR test before arriving in the Bahamas, a free Covid-19 test on the day of boarding, and a third free test on day 5 or 6 of the cruise (required for all passengers two years of age and over returning to the Bahamas and applicable to return requirements in the country of origin).

Guests vaccinated aboard Adventure of the Seas are not required to wear face coverings on the ship, according to Royal Caribbean guidelines posted on the cruise line’s website.

Unvaccinated guests are not required to wear masks outdoors, but must wear masks in all indoor public spaces except when eating and drinking.

The positive cases come amid a wave of discussions and revisions to masking requirements in the United States.

The highly transmissible Delta variant has sparked increased surveillance for Covid infections among fully vaccinated people and growing concern about the threat posed to unvaccinated people.