318 LEGAL IMPACTS OF COVID-19 IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY 3.3. Claims under the Athens Convention Many class actions have been filed against cruise operators in the US District Courts. A class action suit has reportedly been filed in the US District Court in Miami against Costa Cruises. The complaint is that the operator was negligent for allowing its ship the Costa Luminosa to set sail – and to continue its voyage –, despite passengers showing symptoms of COVID-19. The voyage in question departed on 5h March 2020, despite a man on the ship’s antecedent trip having been removed, on 29 February, due to heart problems (and eventually testing positive for COVID-19). After its departure on 5 March, a woman from Italy had to leave the ship, on 8 March, at Puerto Rico because of breathing issues (later testing positive for COVID-19). The complaint was that the trip should have ended that day in Puerto Rico or, alternatively, returned straight home. Similarly, it was suggested that if the passengers had been told of the risk, they would have fled in Puerto Rico. Instead, the cruise continued and, after the ship was not allowed to stop at its next scheduled port, in Antigua, on 9 March, it proceeded to sail across the Atlantic for seven days, with passengers effectively trapped. These passengers were not isolated in their rooms until 15 March, the day after the ship learned that the Italian lady who disembarked in Puerto Rico had tested positive. The rest of the passengers eventually disembarked in France, where 36 people tested positive. A Californian couple has reportedly sued Princess Cruises for $1 million, for the operator’s – they say – gross negligence in handling customers’ exposure to coronavirus on its ship the Grand Princess. There had been a considerable outbreak on the ship during an earlier voyage, which allegedly should have caused the operator to take extra precautions with new passengers. Most importantly, given their knowledge of prior instances of infection on-board and thus exposure of the crew to the virus, the Claimants allege that the cruise operator should have implemented proper screening protocols. There was also an abject failure to adequately alert them of the risks. Indeed, they say that had they known of the extent of the exposure they would not have boarded the ship. An Australian law firm has reportedly been considering a further class action, also against Princess Cruises, in respect of the Ruby Princess cruise ship and specifically the 400 passengers who disembarked on 19 March who contracted the disease. The action could extend to the authorities who were responsible for handling these passengers after they disembarked. There was a suggestion that the cruise ship staff misled the health and border authorities , and the New South Wales police is also investigating the matter.
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