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WILLEMSTAD, Curaçao (AP) – The authorities in Curacao debated on Friday the response to be made to a vessel carrying 300 people on board that was heading to the Dutch Caribbean island after being quarantined in the nearby city of St. Lucia because a confirmed case of measles.
The ship left St. Lucia Thursday night after two days in quarantine. Authorities said the ship's doctor had requested 100 vaccines after a diagnosis of measles had been diagnosed in a crew member. It is not known if she stays in St. Lucia.
Health officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The 440-foot Freewinds vessel would be owned by the Church of Scientology. Church officials did not return messages for comment.
The ship is expected to arrive early Saturday in Curacao, where it is normally moored when it is not used.
Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth, an epidemiologist in Curacao, said the female crew member had arrived from Europe in Curaçao on April 17 and had visited a doctor on April 22 for cold symptoms. A blood sample was taken and sent to Aruba, where authorities confirmed that it was a measles outbreak on April 29, a day after the ship's departure for St. Lucia. Curaçao's health officials then alerted the authorities in St. Lucia.
We did not know what the crew member was doing in Europe.
Officials urged anyone visiting the ship from April 22-28 to be examined by a doctor.
Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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