COVID-19 Protocol Delays First Disney Test Cruise

June 28 (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co postponed its first test cruise since the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic after COVID-19 tests provided inconsistent results for five crew members, the company said on Monday.

Several cruise lines have planned to resume voyages from the United States after many months. Last weekend, Royal Caribbean Group’s Celebrity Edge became the first vessel from a major operator to sail from a U.S. port.

The Disney Dream had been scheduled to set sail on Tuesday. A Disney Cruise Line spokesperson said routine COVID-19 testing came back with positive results for five of nearly 600 crew members.

All of the five were asymptomatic, had been vaccinated and had tested negative “several times before,” the spokesperson said. They were tested the day after the positive result, by the same lab, and found to be negative, the spokesperson said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention treats the results as positive, which prompted the cancellation of the test cruise, Disney said. The company did not say when a new sailing would be scheduled.

Royal Caribbean executive Michael Bayley last week said two unvaccinated teenagers had tested positive on its Adventure of the Seas ship, adding that 92% of guests were fully vaccinated. (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Ramakrishnan M. and Dan Grebler)

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