Tuesday, August 17- The Curse of the COVIDIOT

 

When the Captain gets on the PA system at 6 AM, you know the news is not going to be good.

One of the passengers had tested positive for COVID.  The person traveling with him had not.  (We later found out they'd been bar-hopping the night before embarcation.)  They were well-equipped with tests on board.  The crew had all tested negative and they and would first test passengers who had been in the vicinity of the affected passenger.  When I hadn’t heard from anyone by 7:30 I figured that was a good sign.   Breakfast menus were placed by the doors so we could check off our selection and have them delivered.

Naturally, we were confined to our cabins.  I felt a bit better when breakfast was finally delivered, followed by a second cup of coffee at my request.  I had a stash of good books and a TRX for workouts.  I felt worse for the crew, who appear to love their jobs and who were probably very worried about what this meant for the rest of the season.

Phone service returned sporadically and I was able to get notes to friends and family.  I was treated to the news that the Dow was down over 400 points.  Oh, joy.

We headed back to Juneau and got news as the situation evolved.  We were close to Juneau but couldn’t dock till 4 PM when the health authorities would meet us.  A second passenger, who sat at dinner with the first one who tested positive, also tested positive.  Neither traveling partner did.  One sick passenger and partner were offloaded; they were still trying to find a place for the second to stay since so many quarantine places were booked, so they would be on the ship overnight.  As we neared Juneau the data reception became more consistent.  I checked options for earlier flights home if that became necessary and the extra expenses was very manageable.

 

Typical mega-cruise ship on left.  The one on the right, according to a passenger who looked up the name, belongs to Arthur Blank, the owner of the Atlanta Falcons, and cost $180 million.  More at this link.


Around 7 PM they handed me a swab.  The moment of truth.  Fifteen minutes later it came back negative and I couldn’t even hug the guy who gave me the news.  He did note that it takes a few days for a viral load to build up but I was still happy.

 

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