(Mirror Daily, United States) – On Saturday, hundreds of passengers on a Royal Caribbean cruise needed medical attention after being diagnosed with gastrointestinal disease during the five-night cruise.
According to official estimates, 332 people contracted the disease. A spokesman for the company said that those cases account for only just 5.99% of the total people on-board the ship, including the crew.
Those affected by the short-lived illness were treated by our ship’s doctors with over-the-counter medication,
the spokesman said.
He expressed hope that all passengers get well soon. The company couldn’t tell what caused the disease.
One of the guests, whose teen son contracted the mystery illness described the experience as “terrifying”. According to the guest, there was a huge number of people vomiting, having diarrhea and having a “ghastly” look on their faces.
Number of Cases Could Be Higher than Reported
Some witnesses believe that the number of cases is even higher than the number reported by the company. After disembarking in Florida, one guest told CNN that some people felt so ill that they weren’t even able to reach the ship’s doctor.
Royal Caribbean promised to revamp sanitary procedures to prevent some incidents from reoccurring. The ship, Independence of the Seas, will reportedly undergo some extra cleaning procedures before its next trip.
The spokesperson unveiled that passengers had been advised to wash their hands properly to prevent contracting any stomach viruses.
It is not the first time Royal Caribbean guests land in hospital with a stomach infection. In 2015, two ships were affected by a Norovirus outbreak, making 200 passengers sick.
All guests who displayed norovirus symptoms were given OTC medication to fight off the extremely contagious infection. At the time one passenger recalled that travelers were given brochures on how to properly sanitize their hands.
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