President Donald Trump said he will speak to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about helping the passengers of two cruise ships who have the coronavirus and want to be treated in the state, Florida Politics reported Wednesday.
DeSantis insisted, although the state has available beds, the problem is that "takes resources away from the folks in South Florida," explaining "I don't want a situation where those beds could have gone to Floridians. So, I think the thing is they need to get medical care out on the ship."
Trump, however, has voiced concern about the passengers, saying "They’re dying on the ship," and "I'm going to do what's right. Not only for us, but for humanity."
Holland America's Zaandam and Rotterdam ships, which are now travelling together, are set to arrive in Florida later this week and at least two people on board need emergency attention.
The Zaandam, which has 138 U.S. citizens on board and another 166 American citizens that were transferred to the Rotterdam, has been denied the right to disembark passengers for 15 days as countries have sealed their borders due to the coronavirus.
At least four people have died since the ship left Argentina last month. It has four doctors and four nurses to treat 1,243 passengers and 586 crew members.
Despite pressure from at least one congressman to let at least some of the people off the ship, DeSantis insists docking in Florida is "just a convenient place."
However, William Burke, chief maritime officer of Carnival Corp., which owns Holland America Line, pleaded Florida has become the "port of last resort," according to USA Today.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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