(Reuters) – The number of passengers and crew who fell ill aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship climbed to more than 600 yesterday, many vomiting and using biohazard bags for anything they touch.
The updated sick count aboard the Explorer of the Seas, which cut short its Caribbean cruise and was expected to dock in New Jersey tomorrow, is more than double the 300 originally thought to have been felled by gastrointestinal illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Among those sick with vomiting and diarrhoea were some of the onboard entertainers, which caused shows to be cancelled, passengers said.
“I started with upset stomach and vomiting, and that lasted all night and into the morning,” passenger Joseph Angelillo told CNN in a telephone interview.
Another ill passenger, Arnee Dodd of Connecticut, wrote on Twitter: “I’ve been sick and quarantined… Everything I touch goes in a biohazard bag.”
