Apart from one COVID-19 case on aborted Paul Gauguin cruise, everyone else tests negative

Passengers will disembark

On Tuesday Paul Gauguin Cruises said a sanitary corridor will be created for the disembarkation of all passengers — residing in Polynesia or coming from abroad — in the coming hours.

Crew will remain in quarantine on board for seven days.

All crew and passengers who have been on board will have to be re-tested within seven days.

French Polynesia requires testing before and after arrival

In accordance with French Polynesia's rules that visitors get tested four days after arrival, the woman who turned out to have coronavirus was tested on the ship and when her results came back positive Saturday evening, she and her mother were isolated and all passengers and crew were directed to stay in their cabins.

The woman had tested negative before her international flight to join the ship. French Polynesia visitors must present negative COVID-19 results from a test taken within 72 hours before flying.

After two days in Bora Bora

When the woman tested positive on board, Paul Gauguin, which had just spent two days in Bora Bora, immediately turned around and went back to its Papeete, Tahiti, homeport, arriving Sunday morning.

There, an RT-PCR tested confirmed the woman has coronavirus, although she is asymptomatic.

An official government statement confirmed her mother tested negative. They were immediately taken ashore to a hotel designated for isolation.

340 people on board including 148 passengers

The ship was carrying 340 people, including 148 passengers. Paul Gauguin has capacity for 332 passengers but is operating at lower occupancy as part of its COVID-19 protocols.

The ship resumed sailing July 18 for local residents and opened to international travelers with this current ill-fated cruise on July 29. French Polynesia began welcoming visitors of all nationalities July 15.