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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Did two fully vaccinated passengers on a cruise test positive for the coronavirus?

Monday, June 14, 2021

By Gus Fisher

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YES

Two passengers aboard the first North American cruise in 15 months tested positive for the coronavirus late in their trip.

A Celebrity Cruises ship left the island of St. Maarten on June 4 for a 7-day trip. All passengers had been required to present both a negative test and proof of vaccination 72 hours before departure under the policy for St. Maarten travel. The positive cases were found June 9 during required pre-arrival testing. The two passengers were asymptomatic. They were isolated, and no contacts were found to have been infected, news reports said.

“Celebrity has been up-front about the situation and quick to act to prevent the virus from spreading,” a travel writer who was aboard the voyage reported.

The Centers for Disease Control considers cruise ships to be “very high” risk locations for COVID-19 exposure and continues to recommend that all people avoid traveling on them.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

NBC News Two Royal Caribbean cruise passengers test positive for Covid-19

Caribbean Journal Caribbean cruises are back: Celebrity kicks off 7-night sailing in St. Maarten

Celebrity Cruises St. Maarten travel requirements as of June 2, 2021

Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 and cruise ship travel

The Points Guy 2 passengers on my Celebrity cruise tested positive for COVID-19; here’s what I saw

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.