Cruise ship with 2,400 passengers docks in South Carolina, sparking coronavirus fears

A cruise ship sailed into Charleston on Monday morning, prompting some people on social media to bemoan its arrival and voice concern about a possible exposure to the coronavirus.

Later Monday, none of the Carnival cruise ship’s 2,441 passengers showed signs of COVID-19, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control said in a statement to McClatchy News.

The ship, called the Sunshine, had sailed to the Bahamas, according to state health officials, who said they worked alongside the Centers for Disease Control Cruise Ship Task Force and the Senior Ship Physician.

Carnival had said it would take passengers’ temperatures before leaving the ship as an extra precaution, WCSC reported.

But some passengers said they were not screened for a fever before disembarking, according to the news station.

Carnival said in a statement that passengers had their temperature taken when the cruise ship departed.

“We have been taking temperatures of all guests fleetwide as part of our screening process during embarkation. The request from local officials to explore screening guests debarking Carnival Sunshine was exclusive to the Port of Charleston,” the company said.

Since none of the passengers reported flu-like symptoms, “it was determined that a temperature check at exit was not required.”

Some people, however, still criticized Carnival’s decision on social media Monday.

“There are probably sick people here now but without #tests they will spread the virus,” one Twitter user said.

“So, the last cruise ship docked in Charleston today, and for some reason they decided to just not do temperature checks of the 3,000 passengers as originally planned. ... Why not just do it? What’s the harm in doing it?” another Twitter user said.

State Sen. Sandy Senn, R-Charleston released a statement Monday afternoon, calling the decision not to check passenger temperatures “irresponsible.”

“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 decision “deserves examining further.”

This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 1:21 PM.