Cruise ship leaves with new passengers

NEW ORLEANS — A cruise ship that carried at least 17 passengers and crew members with breakthrough covid-19 infections when it docked in New Orleans has set sail again with new passengers.

Nine crew members and eight passengers were infected when the Norwegian Breakaway arrived on Sunday, a Louisiana Department of Health spokeswoman said Monday.

None had any symptoms and only fully vaccinated people are allowed on board, Norwegian Cruise Line said.

The cruise line said all passengers who boarded the Norwegian Breakaway on Sunday were offered a chance to cancel without penalty.

Passengers said they were tested for covid-19 exposure on Saturday. The cruise line also gave passengers take-home rapid tests as they left the ship, according to WVUE-TV. The Breakaway can carry up to 3,963 passengers. Some people who left the ship on Sunday told WVUE-TV that they had been told that people on board had tested positive for covid-19, but others said they hadn’t.