FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Four people have died aboard a Holland America cruise ship that is making its way to Port Everglades, the liner announced Friday.
The news comes three days after the company confirmed 77 crew and passengers aboard the Zaandam were sick with coronavirus symptoms.
A Miramar couple aboard the ship adrift at sea said the captain has announced the four deaths.
The ship was prohibited from disembarking in Chile and is now making its way to Fort Lauderdale, drawing the wrath of Broward’s county commission, which is considering turning it away.
Cliff Kolber and his wife Doris, who left on their South America cruise in early March, said the captain on the Zaandam said at 11 a.m. that healthy people over age 70 would be evacuated to a second cruise line.
Also Friday, Miami-Dade County recorded its first death from the new coronavirus as the total documented coronavirus cases in Florida climbed to 2,900 infections. The state says 488 people with the coronavirus are in the hospital.
Overall, deaths across Florida jumped from 29 to 35 overnight. Miami-Dade has 763 residents who have tested positive for the disease, which is the most of any county in the state. Broward is second with 614 cases.
———
©2020 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.