President Trump Says He Will Intervene in Zaandam Saga

President Trump said Tuesday he will reach out to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the fate of the Holland America cruise ship Zaandam, currently carrying four dead bodies and more than 200 sick passengers.

Eight of the passengers tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.

“They’re dying on the ship,” Trump said at his daily press briefing, striking a far more somber tone regarding the virus than he has in the past. “I’m going to do what’s right, not only for us but for humanity.”

A defiant DeSantis said Monday that the passengers cannot be “dumped” in his state.

“We cannot afford to have people, who are not even Floridians, dumped into South Florida using up those valuable resources,” DeSantis said. “We view this as a big, big problem, and we do not want to see people dumped in Southern Florida right now.”

At a news conference later, DeSantis said he was concerned that disembarking in Port Everglades will use up Florida hospitals’ scarce resources.

The Zaandam has been at sea since March 7 on a South American itinerary but has been denied entry into more than a half-dozen ports. Healthy passengers have been transferred to the Holland America Rotterdam, and both ships are hoping to dock in Fort Lauderdale.

Holland America president Orlando Ashford released a statement Tuesday asking for compassion and humanity in allowing the ships to dock.

Broward County Commissioner Michael Udine said a ‘unified command’ of officials from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Broward County sheriff, port authorities, the Florida Health Department and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were working together to form a plan.

“The unified command is going to give us a briefing in the next 24 to 48 hours,” he told Reuters News Service.

The Zaandam and Rotterdam were still about two days away from Port Everglades, and could arrive no earlier than Thursday night, Udine added.