The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) Harbors Division is announcing that today, six Hawaii residents, and an injured passenger and her spouse have been allowed to leave the Maasdam cruise ship docked at Honolulu Harbor.
The eight passengers were processed by Customs and Border Protection agents. In addition, they underwent an enhanced medical screening which included a temperature reading, medical questionnaire review and travel history verification.
No passengers in this group of eight had a fever or displayed any symptoms. The asymptomatic Hawaii passengers have been directed to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arriving at their residence.
In addition, the injured passenger from Colorado, who had suffered a fractured leg, will see a medical specialist. She and her husband were screened as they left the ship. They also were directed to self-quarantine for 14 days or the duration of their stay here, whichever is shorter.
All other passengers and crew will not be able to leave the vessel.
“I am authorizing the Hawaii residents and the injured passenger to disembark,” said Governor Ige. “Allowing the Hawaii residents off the ship means they will avoid unnecessary air travel and reduces their risk of exposure to COVID-19. The woman with a fractured leg needs medical attention and therefore must be allowed off the boat.”
“These are extraordinary times and I believe this is the appropriate course of action given that all State resources are currently directed at containing the spread of the disease on our islands,” said Director Jade Butay, Hawaii Department of Transportation. “HDOT is working to prevent the spread of the disease and is acutely aware that our state’s medical and other resources are at high risk of becoming overburdened during this crisis.”
The Maasdam arrived at Honolulu Harbor Pier 2 at 6:30 a.m. It has approximately 850 passengers onboard.
The Norwegian Jewel is scheduled to arrive Sunday, March 22. It has approximately 1,700 passengers on board.
There have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on either ship to date.
HDOT adheres to the U.S. Department of State global level 4 health advisory stating U.S. citizens should avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19. For additional information please click here.
Cruise ships are on a 30-day pause in operations that took effect March 14, 2020. Neither ship had originally planned to make Hawaii its final destination for passengers. The Norwegian Jewel had not planned to travel to the United States.
There are 16 cruise ships that have canceled scheduled visits to Hawaii during the 30 day suspension in operations. For information regarding the Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) directive please click here.
For additional transportation related information and resources please visit the HDOT COVID-19 webpage by clicking here.