The cruise ship Aida Perla which was turned away from docking in St. Lucia Saturday morning due to several passengers having “upper respiratory tract infections” is expected in Dominica tomorrow (Sunday).

The itinerary of the cruise ship confirms that the ship is scheduled in Dominica on Sunday 2nd February 2020 and can be viewed here: https://www.cruisemapper.com/ships/AIDAperla-1243

According to St. Lucia News Online, St. Lucian health officials dismissed the notion that the ship was turned away due to suspicion that the sick passengers had novel Coronavirus and dissuaded the propagation of such rumours.

In a statement released Saturday  those same authorities said the decision not to allow clearance was due to the unusually high number of sick passengers on-board the Aida Perla.

However, neither the total number of infected nor the cause of the infection is clear at this time.

“This decision was taken out of an abundance of caution for human health and safety,” the statement said.

DNO was unable to contact the relevant Dominican authorities at the time of publishing of this article.