Religious Retreat Ship, Freewinds, is Still in Quarantine

It looks like the religious retreat aboard the Freewinds, the Church of Scientology owned cruise ship, will continue for a while longer.

Docked and in quarantine at its home port of Curacao since leaving the port of St. Lucia last week.  Passengers and crew onboard the Freewinds are still under quarantine following a diagnosed case of measles.  The crew member diagnosed with measles is healthy now, but the process to safely release the rest of the ship will take time.  On Saturday, Epidemiologist and public health physician, Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth, boarded the ship and interviewed Freewinds passengers and crew. The team gathered documentation from 31 crew members and 10 passengers who could prove they had been previously vaccinated or were immune to the disease from a prior diagnosis.  277 blood samples were taken from others and sent to the Netherlands to be tested  for measles.

The results were due yesterday, but no word yet on when those onboard will be allowed to disembark.  The affected crew member has since recovered and moral on the religious retreat ship is reported to be high.