44 Test Positive on Symphony of the Seas

According to Royal Caribbean, all guests were asymptomatic.

The Arizona Republic and USA Today are reporting that 44 guests onboard Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas have tested positive for Covid.

A spokesperson for the cruise line said two other guests had positive for Omicron earlier in the cruise. "We were notified by the CDC that a guest on board our (December) 4th cruise tested positive and it was identified as omicron," Lyan Sierra-Caro, spokesperson for Royal Caribbean, told USA TODAY late Saturday. "They (CDC) asked us to notify guests on the sailing, the one that ended today, and the current one." "They were found as a result of immediately identifying close contacts after a guest tested positive," Sierra-Caro said, noting each person was quarantined quickly. "Everyone who tested positive is asymptomatic, and we continually monitored their health. Six guests were disembarked earlier in the cruise and transported home. The remaining guests received assistance today upon our arrival."

Sierra-Caro said that these developments have not impacted any upcoming Symphony of the Seas cruises. All passengers age 12 and older were required to be fully vaccinated and to test negative to board the cruise which departed from Miami on Dec. 11. Children ineligible for the vaccine were required to test negative, too.