Above: the Explorer of the Seas

By the Caribbean Journal staff

St Maarten’s government says it advised the Explorer of the Seas’ medical officer not to make its planned call on the island, which had been scheduled for Monday.

The announcement came after Royal Caribbean said it would be sending home its Explorer of the Seas ship early.

According to a government release, the Collective Prevention Services department of St Maarten’s Ministry of Public Health advised the ship’s on-board medical officer that the ship should pass by the Port of St Maarten “in the interests of mitigating any risk to public health to residents and visitors on the island.”

The CPS advised the ship to “return to its homeport in the interests of mitigating any risk to public health to residents and visitors on the island.”

The CPS told the Explorer of the Seas’ medical officer that “overall number of cases far exceed the recommended norm” and that there was “no guarantee the outbreak is and will be contained based on the vessels last presented overview and reported numbers.”

The Explorer of the Seas will be returning to its home port in New Jersey on Wednesday, two days before its planned return date.