Another Royal Caribbean cruise ship crew member dies, the third in eight days
Another Royal Caribbean crew member from the Oasis of the Seas cruise ship died Monday, according to a recording from the ship’s captain obtained by the Herald.
“Our dear fellow team member, waiter Iputu Sugiartha, passed away this morning,” the ship’s captain said over the loudspeaker Monday morning. “You should all know that he was well cared for at the hospital and by our medical team and that his family was contacted and offered support.”
Sugiartha, 41, from Indonesia, according to his Facebook, is the second Royal Caribbean crew member to die in just two days, following Filipino Dexter Joyosa’s death at a Broward hospital on Saturday afternoon. A third crew member from Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas ship, 27-year-old Pujiyoko, also from Indonesia, died in a Broward hospital on April 12 from COVID-19.
Sugiartha leaves behind a wife and children in Indonesia, according to his Facebook. His family and friends could not be reached for this story.
The string of deaths comes more than a month after Royal Caribbean was first aware of possible COVID-19 infections on both Miami-based ships.
During the last cruise for the Oasis of the Seas from March 8 to March 15, Royal Caribbean notified the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of a possible COVID-19 infection on board. All passengers disembarked at PortMiami on March 15, following the company’s decision to suspend operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Crew members say they were encouraged to socialize on the ship without any social distancing or protective masks or gloves.
“The captain kept saying this ship is very healthy, we don’t have any cases on board,” one crew member said.
Nearly two weeks later, on March 28, the captain announced that 14 crew members had tested positive for COVID-19 and ordered all crew to self-isolate in individual cabins. Since then, at least nine people have been hospitalized and two have died.
Royal Caribbean did not respond to requests for comment about why the company waited to notify crew members of their exposure and isolate them after it learned of a possible infection.
The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Sugiartha died from COVID-19. The Florida Department of Health is only reporting detailed data on COVID-19 deaths of Florida residents. DOH spokesperson Alberto Moscoso said reporting deaths by residency is the appropriate way to calculate disease rates. It leaves crew members who have died of the disease uncounted.
This story was updated on April 23, 2020 to reflect new information from the Broward Medical Examiner.
This story was originally published April 20, 2020 at 3:37 PM.
