The government is working to return Dominicans working on cruise ships back home. Many Dominicans have been stranded on cruise ships where they work and have been unable to return home to the island since coronavirus outbreak. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said these cruise workers will be repatriated back to Dominica as soon as the cruise lines on which they work agree to terms.
“The cruise ships have not made any definitive decision yet, so we are in touch with that cruise line about the possibility of dropping off the Dominicans here,” Skerrit said. “We are prepared to facilitate the Dominicans to come home.”
The problem however, according to the prime minister, is that the cruise lines have not taken any definitive decision on returning their Dominican workers to their home country and the terms for doing so. He went on to add that the cruise workers will be made to go through the mandatory 14-day quarantine to determine if any of them is infected with coronavirus when they return home to the island.
Meanwhile, port health officials continue to monitor the ports so that no new case of COVID-19 is imported into the country. Chief Environmental Health Officer, Tassie Thomas, said her team constantly monitors maritime vessels so that no unauthorized passengers come into the country.
“We have cargo boats coming in to bring important supplies such as food, medicine and medical equipment. We cannot say no to this,” Thomas said. “We have measures in place and we respond accordingly.”
She revealed that since the regatta which was earlier planned to hold in March in Portsmouth was cancelled, many yachts and sailboats moored in Portsmouth bay have left with only 40 remaining. She said the boat owners continue to be taught on COVID-19 prevention and some of them in self-isolation with no coronavirus symptoms reported amongst them.
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