Carnival says cruise passenger that died from COVID didn't contract virus on ship

Carnival Corp. claims that a 77-year-old passenger who died from COVID-19 didn't contract the virus while on a cruise in the Caribbean earlier this month. 

In fact, the cruise line operator said there is a "fair amount of disinformation about the circumstances of this matter." 

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During the second week of August, 27 vaccinated Carnival cruise passengers on a Carnival Vista ship tested positive for COVID-19 just before making a stop in Belize City. The positive cases were among 26 crew members and one passenger. Overall, the ship had been carrying over 1,400 crew and nearly 3,000 passengers, the Belize Tourism Board said in a statement, adding that 99.98% of the ship’s crew was vaccinated, as well as 96.5% of its passengers. 

Carnival told FOX Business in a statement that the company is aware of the elderly passenger's death but said that they "almost certainly did not contract COVID" on the ship."

Carnival declined to identify the passenger but added that "she was assisted with expert medical care on board." 

Afterward, she was "ultimately evacuated from Belize after we provided a resource to her family," Carnival continued. 

According to multiple reports, the passenger's family had created a GoFundMe page to raise money for her medical costs. 

CARNIVAL CRUISE COVID OUTBREAK: 27 PEOPLE ABOARD SHIP TEST POSITIVE

On Aug. 15, the family updated the GoFundMe saying that their loved one, Marilyn, was "reunited with lost loved ones." 

"We’ll always miss and love her and continue to keep her legacy alive," the GoFundMe continued. 

Carnival said that it has met "standards for a vaccinated cruise as defined by the CDC, with at least 95% of our guests and all of our crew being vaccinated" and that that it has "implemented a suite of protocols that are designed to flex up as needed to adapt to the changing public health situation related to COVID-19." 

The company requires passengers to wear masks in certain indoor areas and they also must provide a negative COVID-19 test within three days of embarking on a cruise. Passengers who can't be vaccinated are tested twice before boarding the ship and during debarkation, according to Carnival. 

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"Unfortunately, no venue on land or at sea is COVID-free right now, but we are committed to protecting the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit and have not hesitated to act quickly and go beyond existing public health guidelines," Carnival said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.