Dr. Jaime Álvarez Zayas, director of the Eighth Health Region, clarified that at no time did Puerto Vallarta deny the disembarkation of healthy passengers from the Carnival Panorama or the Koningsdam cruise ships, who recently reported active cases of COVID-19 onboard. The ships’ authorities themselves decided not to disembark healthy passengers and crew.
Last week, it was announced that the Holland American Line Koningsdam cruise ship had arrived in the port with active cases of COVID-19, so passengers and crew did not disembark. The same happened this week with the Carnival Panorama. But it was not the Puerto Vallarta authorities who denied the disembarkation.
Dr. Zayas explained that the authorities of both ships were told that passengers and crew who wanted to disembark in Puerto Vallarta could do so as long as they had a negative antigen test.
He said, “At no time, and I have to emphasize it, were they prohibited from getting off the ship since that is not up to us. Our job is simply to take care of the public health of the population and visitors. So, we allow the disembarkation of passengers who do not present symptoms, and have a negative test. The ships’ authorities themselves decided not to disembark passengers in Puerto Vallarta.”