SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO —
The Carnival Mardi Gras docked Tuesday in Puerto Rico — the primary time a cruise ship has visited the U.S. territory for the reason that pandemic started.
Some cautiously celebrated the arrival. It comes as Puerto Rico has reported a rise in COVID-19 circumstances blamed on the Delta variant but in addition because it seeks to restart its essential tourism sector, which depended largely on file numbers of cruise ship passengers lately.
Carlos Mercado, govt director of Puerto Rico’s Tourism Firm, informed The Related Press that the federal government took a number of precautions to stop the unfold of COVID-19, together with permitting solely those that are absolutely vaccinated to disembark.
He mentioned the ship was touring at 70% capability, with some 4,500 individuals aboard, and that he estimates a complete of three,500 will disembark. Mercado famous that 95% of the ship’s passengers are vaccinated, with kids youthful than 12 making up the vast majority of those that haven’t been inoculated.
The go to was anticipated to generate some $360,000 in the course of the 9 hours that the ship is docked within the historic a part of Puerto Rico’s capital often called Previous San Juan.
“That is extremely vital for us,” Mercado mentioned, noting that Puerto Rico’s resort and aviation sector has boomed in current months. “That is what we have been lacking.”
Some 1.9 million cruise ship passengers visited Puerto Rico in 2019, a file for the island, mentioned tourism spokeswoman Astrid Rolon.
The Carnival Mardi Gras departed Port Canaveral, Florida, and Puerto Rico was its first cease.
