FILE
- The cruise ship Carnival Magic passes near Cozumel , Mexico, on
Friday, Oct. 17, 2014 file photo. The Coast Guard said it has retrieved a
blood sample from a Dallas health care worker who is aboard a cruise
ship and being monitored for signs of Ebola. Petty Officer Andy Kendrick
says the crew flew in a helicopter Saturday Oct. 18, 2014 to meet the
Carnival Magic and lowered a basket of supplies.
The woman provided a
sample. (AP Photo/Angel Castellanos, File)
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — A cruise ship carrying a Dallas
health care worker who was being monitored for Ebola returned to port
Sunday after an eventful seven-day trip in which passengers had their
vacations briefly disrupted with an infectious disease scare.
A lab supervisor who handled a specimen from a
Liberian man who died from Ebola in Dallas showed no symptoms during the
cruise but self-quarantined out of caution. Carnival Cruise Lines told
passengers the unidentified woman was tested for Ebola but the results
were negative.
Vicky Rey,
vice president of guest care for Carnival Cruise Lines, said the woman
and her husband drove themselves home after arriving in Galveston early
Sunday, but offered no further details.
The Ebola scare added some drama to the trip for the hundreds of passengers on the ship.
They
learned through a public address system announcement that one of the
passengers was being monitored for Ebola. They watched developments
about the Ebola outbreak and their ship on the news. The boat was not
allowed to dock in Cozumel, depriving passengers of one of the top port
destinations. Travelers snapped pictures of a Coast Guard helicopter as
it landed to get a blood sample from the passenger.
"We weren't
worried. We ended up just hanging out and enjoying the rest of the
trip," said Meredith Brooks, a Houston banker who was on her honeymoon
during the cruise.
State
Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that when the woman left the U.S.
on the cruise ship from Galveston, Texas, on Oct. 12 health officials
were requiring only self-monitoring. Officials stepped up their response
while the cruise was underway and two nurses were diagnosed with Ebola.
Carnival Cruise Lines said in a statement that the woman was "not deemed to be a risk to any guests or crew."
"We
are in close contact with the CDC, and at this time it has been
determined that the appropriate course of action is to simply keep the
guest in isolation on board," the statement said, referring to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Petty
Officer Andy Kendrick told The Associated Press that a Coast Guard crew
flew in a helicopter Saturday to meet the Carnival Magic and retrieved a
blood sample from the woman. He said the blood sample was taken to a
state lab in Austin for processing.
The
ship was refused clearance to dock in Cozumel, Mexico on Friday, a day
after Belize refused to let the passenger leave the vessel. There were
no restrictions placed on other passengers aboard the ship, officials
said.
Passenger James Dinkley
of Thelma, Texas, took the cruise to celebrate his one-year wedding
anniversary with his wife. He said there was some initial confusion and
agitation after they learned of the situation, were delayed in Belize
for several hours and had the Cozumel visit cancelled. But he said the
cruise line kept everyone informed with regular updates after that.
"There was a lot of confusion, especially when they canceled our Cozumel day," he said.
Carnival gave passengers credit for the missed Cozumel leg.
Associated Press Writer Josh Hoffner contributed to this report.