44 people on RC's Symphony of the Seas test COVID-19 positive

During a 7-day voyage that ended in Miami on Saturday, at least 44 people onboard Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas ship tested positive for COVID-19, according to the cruise line.

According to spokesperson Lyan Sierra-Caro of Royal Caribbean, the 44 people who tested positive represented 0.72 percent of the 6,074 passengers and crew members onboard Symphony of the Seas, which left Miami on December 11 and made stops in St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Perfect Day at CocoCay (Royal Caribbean's private island).

A traveller who went on that same ship earlier this month tested positive for the omicron version of the coronavirus, and the cruise line alerted passengers from that voyage and two others (a sailing that departed December 4 and one that departed December 18) on Saturday.

"The (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) informed us that a passenger onboard our (December) 4th cruise tested positive for omicron," Sierra-Caro explained.

"They (CDC) requested that we tell guests on the previous sailing as well as the present one."

Royal Caribbean explained what happened in an email to passengers on the three Symphony of the Seas trips.

In an email acquired by USA TODAY, the cruise operator stated, "This guest did not report symptoms to our onboard medical experts as instructed in our health guidelines."

"Their post-cruise test findings verified that they were carrying the omicron variety."

Sierra-Caro said the 44 cases on the recently disembarked cruise "were discovered as a result of swiftly identifying close contacts after a passenger tested positive," adding that each person was quickly isolated.

"We kept track of everyone who tested positive since they were asymptomatic. Earlier in the voyage, six passengers were disembarked and taken home. Upon our arrival, the remaining passengers were given help."

Royal Caribbean stated in an email to passengers that the instances on the December 11 trip were "unrelated to the omicron case from the guest who travelled on December 4."

It's unclear why the cases were unrelated at first.

According to CDC recommendations, passengers should attend a certified testing centre three to five days following disembarkation.

The CDC said in a statement on Saturday that it was "working with RCI to acquire further information about the cases and suspected exposures, and RCI will be collecting specimens from the current cruise for genetic sequencing."

Symphony of the Seas is "Yellow" on the CDC's cruise ship colour status list, signifying that the "CDC has investigated and the ship continues under monitoring," according to the agency.