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.