Disney denies knowledge of Coast woman’s coronavirus diagnosis. Is that really the case?
An official at Disney Cruise Line says no Health Department official has informed them that one of their passengers tested positive for the new coronavirus.
However, a Hancock County woman, 74, who received confirmation of her COVID-19 diagnosis on Saturday, told the Sun Herald she has spoken at length to Disney officials about her diagnosis.
The woman, a parishioner at St. Matthew The Apostle Church in Hancock County, and her daughter had gone on a Disney Wonder cruise to Mexico on Feb. 27, boarding the ship in New Orleans and returning to the same port on March 2.
She told the Sun Herald that Disney officials called her at home regarding her diagnosis. She received the call after one of her children called Disney Cruise Line to report her mother’s condition.
The Hancock County woman’s condition became public her church announced the diagnosis on its Facebook page. The woman and one of her daughters had attended an 8:30 mass at the church on March 8 followed by coffee social.
At the time they attended mass, neither the woman or her daughter had any symptoms of being ill.
After the Sun Herald broke the story on the woman’s diagnosis, several people who went on the same cruise have reached out to find out why they have not been informed of the fellow passenger’s diagnosis.
In response to questions from the Sun Herald, Cynthia Martinez, director of communications and public relations for Disney Cruise Line, responded by saying, “We have not been notified by public health officials of any COVID-19 cases related to our ships.”
The Sun Herald reached out again to clarify if the Cruise Line had spoken to the South Mississippi patient or simply was saying it had not heard of the diagnosis from officials with the Health Department or Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
So far, no one has responded to the request for additional information.
Meanwhile, the Hancock County woman and her daughter who went on the cruise with her remain self-quarantined at home in Hancock County.
As of Wednesday, the latest count of coronavirus cases by the Mississippi State Health Department is 34, up from 21 on Tuesday. Of those, seven of the cases are in the three Coast counties.
