A South Carolina lawmaker wants answers after more than 2,400 cruise passengers weren’t properly screened for COVID-19 symptoms —including a fever check — before they were released into the Port of Charleston Monday morning.
The decision to not screen passengers was made by federal health officials at the U.S Centers for Disease Control, according to a spokesperson from Carnival Cruise Line.
Senator Sandy Senn said before the Carnival Cruise ship arrived, she spoke with port officials “who ensured that passengers would be properly screened, and temperatures would be taken.”
“However, many passengers did not receive proper precautionary tests prior to deboarding,” Senn asked in a news release.
Earlier today, WCSC TV-5 (CBS – Charleston, S.C.) reported that several passengers did not have their temperatures taken before they arrived in Charleston Monday morning.
Senn said that a port official told her Monday morning that the passengers weren’t screened, and it wasn’t a decision made by the South Carolina Ports Authority.
“Carnival followed guidelines set forth by CDC, CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) and Coast Guard who are the authorities governing this situation,” S.C. Ports Authority Chief Operating Officer Barbara Melvin told FITSNews.
A Carnival spokesperson told Senn in an email that the cruise line was planning on screening passengers, but was then advised against it by Dr. Katherine Richardson of South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC).
Richardson told Carnival officials that the “CDC recommended against screening of passengers and crew prior to disembarkation,” according to the email exchange.
The email did not say why the CDC would advise against screening passengers. SCDHEC officials told Live 5 News that they worked with the CDC Cruise Ship Task Force to monitor the passengers throughout the trip.
“While there are no known influenza-like illness in any of the passengers, the decision to release passengers without proper screening is irresponsible and deserves examining further,” Senn said.
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(Via: Travis Bell Photography)
Senn (above) said that the ship, the Carnival Sunshine, traditionally runs trips from Charleston to the Bahamas and Caribbean and many of the passengers are South Carolina residents within driving distance of the port.
“The failure to follow through with promises to test passengers who have been on a boat together for five days should concern our state and beyond since the passengers have now headed home and most live within driving distance of Charleston,” Senn said.
The cruise returned from Nassau, Bahamas, where one coronavirus case has been reported so far.
“I am not a disease expert, but a decision to dump 2,441 unscreened passengers into Charleston seems unwise given that they had all been on a boat together for four days and there is a ban on group gatherings of 50 or more,” Senn said in a newsletter.
Senn represents Charleston and Dorchester counties.
Earlier today, South Carolina officials reported the first coronavirus death in the state. A total of 33 people have tested positive for COVID-19. Here is a breakdown of what counties those cases are in:
- Kershaw County: 18
- Horry County : 3
- Beaufort County: 3
- Lancaster County: 2
- Anderson County: 2
- Charleston County: 1
- Greenville County: 1
- Lexington County: 2
- Spartanburg County: 1
South Carolina has tested 268 people for COVID-19 and 235 tests have been negative.
Cases have been sharply increasing since Friday when SCDHEC announced that tests would be more widely available. 15 of the 28 cases were reported between Saturday and Sunday. On Friday, DHEC officials said their lab had enough supplies to test 2,000 coronavirus samples — up to 80 to 100 a day “with the ability to double or triple that number as needed.”
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