FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn't want a cruise ship where four people died and dozens of others are sick to offload passengers for treatment in South Florida.
During a Monday morning news conference, DeSantis said the state can't treat outsiders right now. According to the Associated Press, many of the passengers on board the Holland America Zaandam ship are American or Canadian.
DeSantis said Holland America should send doctors and treat passengers on board when it gets to port.
Holland America said Monday the ship got permission to travel through the Panama Canal on its way to Florida from a canceled South America cruise. On Friday, the cruise line confirmed four people on board had died.
And, as of Friday, the cruise line said almost 150 people on board have flu-like symptoms.
The ship has been searching for a port since leaving South America earlier this month. A sister ship, the Rotterdam, picked up the apparently healthy passengers. The ships are about three days from Florida.
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