Thread by @MiamiHerald

As the coronavirus spread across the world in early 2020, millions of people found themselves trapped in what is now understood to be one of the most dangerous places during a pandemic: a cruise ship. (THREAD)

Just how many passengers and crew got sick or died is impossible to know.

No global health body or regulatory agency is known to be tracking those statistics.

And the cruise industry has largely stayed silent about the toll.

The @MiamiHerald launched a tracking project, and already the numbers are alarming: 2,592 people have tested positive for COVID-19 during or directly after a cruise, and at least 65 people have died. hrld.us/2xJMSKx

The numbers come from a database we compiled using records from the CDC, foreign health departments, news reports, cruise companies, and interviews with passengers and crew. hrld.us/2VQggql

So far, the @MiamiHerald has found COVID-19 cases linked to at least 54 ocean-going cruise ships.

That is roughly one-fifth of the global ocean cruise fleet, far more than the industry or public health officials have acknowledged.

It’s also likely not the complete picture.

How did we get here?

Let's start on Sunday, March 8, 2020. By that date, the CDC was warning Americans to stay away from cruise ships as coronavirus cases proliferated.

But some cruise ships sailed on, undeterred. hrld.us/2XXfZ7x

Reluctant passengers who didn’t want to lose their money boarded cruise ships, trusting that companies would not be operating if it weren’t safe.

Cruise execs said they were taking precautions, like denying boarding to people who had recently traveled to hotspots and ramping up cleaning routines on ships.

And crew members had no choice but to return to sea.

At least eight ships left on voyages after the March 8 CDC warning, resulting in at least 309 cases of the disease, or 12% of the total known cruise-related cases, the Herald analysis shows.

At least three of those people died.

As of publication, at least 922 crew members have been infected and at least 11 have died from COVID-19.

We asked companies for data:
🛳️@CarnivalPLC. was the most transparent, wrangling data from its 9 cruise lines.
🛳️ @MSCCruises_PR was helpful, but only provided a breakdown for passenger data.
🛳️ @RCLcorp declined to comment.
🛳️@CruiseNorwegian did not respond.

@CarnivalPLC @MSCCruises_PR @RCLcorp @CruiseNorwegian The @MiamiHerald is committed to updating this information weekly until the COVID-19 pandemic is declared over. hrld.us/2VQggql

@CarnivalPLC @MSCCruises_PR @RCLcorp @CruiseNorwegian If you or someone you know got COVID-19 within 14 days of being on a cruise, we want to hear from you.

🗣️ Fill out the secure form below and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible. hrld.us/2zkmFCp

@CarnivalPLC @MSCCruises_PR @RCLcorp @CruiseNorwegian Reporting the stories that matter to our community takes a lot of work, time and, yes, money.

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