Florida Docking Plan in the Works for Ill-Fated Cruise Ships

Florida Docking Plan in the Works for Ill-Fated Cruise Ships
The Zaandam cruise ship (L) carrying some guests with flu-like symptoms, is anchored shortly after it arrived to the bay of Panama City, on March 27, 2020, amid the worldwide spread of the CCP virus. Arnulfo Franco/AP
The Associated Press
Updated:
MIAMI—Passengers from an ill-fated South American cruise are anxious to disembark once they reach Florida, but Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state’s health care resources are already stretched too thin to take on another ship’s CCP virus caseload. The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday that the decision would be punted to Washington if authorities can’t agree.

With the Zaandam and Rotterdam ships arriving as early as Wednesday and at least two people on board needing emergency attention, a “unified command” of state, local and federal officials will be asked to approve a detailed docking plan requiring Holland America to handle all medical issues without impacting South Florida’s already-stressed hospitals.