Cruise Passenger Dies After Returning to U.S. from Belize
Marilyn Tackett
The international media is reporting that a woman who got COVID during a cruise that stopped in Belize has died on her return to the U.S. The seventy-seven-year-old retired school teacher, Marilyn Tackett, was travelling with her family on the Carnival Vista and began feeling unwell after a day in Roatan, Honduras. A fully vaccinated Tackett later experienced difficulty breathing and the doctor onboard the ship administered a test which confirmed her positive status. She was taken to the Intensive Care Unit at an unnamed private hospital in Belize City and placed on a ventilator. The ship left Tackett behind and returned to the United States. Her family managed to raise enough money and the elderly woman was airlifted to Oklahoma, but died days later on August fourteenth. There are reports of one other cruise ship passenger also hospitalised in Belize in a critical condition. This morning, Health and Wellness Minister Michel Chebat shared details with the media.
Reporter
“Are cruise ships dumping COVID patients in Belize and exposing Belize unnecessarily to these dangerous variants?”
Michel Chebat
Michel Chebat, Minister of Health & Wellness
“I don’t know that they are dumping them on Belize, but as a country, we have a humanitarian responsibility to render healthcare when possible. I know of the case with the female. Before she was brought on land, there were arrangements made with one of the private hospitals, the person had health insurance so we made sure that all of those were covered before she was allowed to come on land. But we must render humanitarian aid.”
Reporter
“Is cabinet making any decisions in regards to the continued arrivals of cruise ships?”
Michel Chebat
“We continue to look at it and we continue to make sure that we have an ongoing discussion with the cruise lines to ensure that we have the safest protocols in place. I mean obviously there is never going to have a hundred percent in anything, but we try our best to make sure that we are as safe as possible.”
