FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Passengers aboard two cruise ships that have had coronavirus cases and deaths have been given the green light to disembark at a Florida port. Broward County Commissioner Michael Udine said Thursday that an agreement had been reached between local, state and federal officials and Carnival Corp., which owns the Zaandam and the Rotterdam. And Port Everglades traffic records list the two ships’ arrival as “confirmed.” The cruise line Holland America is operating the ships. Holland America says 45 passengers who are mildly sick will stay on board until they recover, but that it needs 10 people to be taken to a Fort Lauderdale hospital for immediate medical care.
but that it needs 10 people to be taken to a Fort Lauderdale hospital for immediate medical care
But Florida’s hospitals are overwhelmed! 10 more patients will break them! That’s why we need those ships to stay at sea until everyone aboard dies of Covid-19, including the 300 Americans!
The way the AP’s reporting this, it sounds like more than DeSantis is afraid:
DeSantis’ comments came a day after President Donald Trump suggested that he had spoken to the governor and persuaded him to allow the ships to dock in Florida.
“We have to do something … and the governor knows that, too,” Trump said Wednesday.
The passengers who are healthy need to get off the ships, and the rest need to be treated urgently, the nation’s top infectious disease official, Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Thursday. “You have to take care of the people who are ill. You just have an obligation to do that. And as quickly as possible,” Fauci said on “CBS This Morning.”
Given Trump’s earlier hemming and hawing about letting the passengers off the cruise ship in San Francisco, I’m not sure it’s Trump who should get much credit for this decision–witness Fauci’s comment here.
Sadly our initial attempt at maximal cruelty has failed. We as a country will now have to live with the fact that we were forced into helping sick people - some of whom are not even Americans.
I don’t give Trump ANY credit…or most of the buffoons in his cabinet who seem to react to polls and F&F rather than a cohesive PLAN on how to deal with this.
