Thirteen passengers and one crew member will be taken to Broward Health Medical Center for treatment, while 26 passengers will be staying on board to be quarantined for 14 days. The ship will not remain at the port for that entire time, officials say, but crew will be staying on board. Of the 1,211 passengers deemed fit for travel, most will be taken to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to board chartered flights back home on Friday, said Port Everglades’ Alinda Montfort. We’re thankful to the people of Broward County,” Rick de Pinho, of New Jersey, said. De Pinho and his wife were on a two week South American voyage on the Zaandam ship when the new coronavirus began spreading on their ship.

Broward County officials and Holland America, the company that operates the ships, announced that an agreement had been reached shortly before the ships were seen pulling into port. The plan noted that the company had secured access at two local hospitals for 13 passengers and a crew member who needed medical care. Four elderly passengers died on the Zaandam, at least two from COVID-19, said William Burke, chief maritime officer for Carnival Corp., which owns the ships. There were 442 guests and 603 crew on the Zaandam, and 808 guests and 583 crew on the Rotterdam. The cruise was stranded off the coast of Panama after it was not allowed to dock in Chile and other ports along its path.

The ships can’t dock at Port Everglades or even enter U.S. waters until unified command approves the cruise line’s entry plan, which has to include measures to keep the passengers away from the general population in Broward County. Unified command is made up of members from the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Department of Health. We have over 300 U.S. citizens, fellow Americans, on the ships,” Broward County Mayor Dale Holness said. Both vessels are on their way to Port Everglades, but on Tuesday unified command rejected Carnival’s entry plan. Holness said meetings regarding the ships plans are ongoing, with Carnival and unified command sending documents back and forth and working to solidify an entry plan by Thursday.

Ron DeSantis said Monday that he believes it’s a mistake to allow Holland America’s Zaandam ship to dock in South Florida. Four people have died on the cruise ship. Zaandam and its sister ship, the Rotterdam, are both on their way to Port Everglades. Four passengers died on the Zaandam during what was supposed to be a two-week cruise from Argentina to Chile. “But clearly, what must be done is that we safeguard the people of South Florida.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Holland America Line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, deployed a ship to deliver coronavirus test kits to the MS Zaandam cruise ship heading to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. The MS Zaandam’s voyage continues with 1,829 people on board, including 30 guests and 47 crew members who have reported coronavirus symptoms and haven’t been off the ship since March 14 in Chile. “Holland America Line has deployed Rotterdam to rendezvous with Zaandam and provide extra supplies, staff, COVID-19 test kits and other support as needed,” a cruise line representative wrote in a statement. Carrying 611 crew and no guests, Rotterdam departed Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on Sunday and is set to meet with MS Zaandam’s crew on Thursday evening off the coast of Panama. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Florida Department of Health in Broward County, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Customs & Border Protection and the Port Everglades Pilots Association are assessing the situation.