Marilyn Tackett.Photo: GoFundMe
A 77-year-old woman died after she tested positive forCOVID-19during her recent Carnival Vista cruise.
Tackett “was so excited to take her first trip outside the US,” her grandchild Tara Cameron revealed in aGoFundMe pagecreated on Aug. 6.
Carnival Vista cruise ship.Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty
After she tested positive, the 77-year-old was placed on a ventilator at a hospital in Belize, Cameron detailed. The family crowdfunded enough money to get their loved one back to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a doctor told them she was in “critical condition.”
On Aug. 15, Cameron updated the GoFundMe, writing, “We just wanted to get on here and Thank all of you for your support, love and prayers. Memaw fought as long as she could. To know she’s reunited with lost loved ones and that she’s basking in The Lord’s presence now is a huge comfort. We’ll always miss and love her and continue to keep her legacy alive.”
“We’ll continue to walk in Faith like she taught us and try to spread love and kindness like she did,” Tackett’s grandchild added. “Please continue to keep her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren in your prayers as we lay her to rest. And please know we love and appreciate you all.”
It’s unclear if Tackett had been vaccinated ahead of her cruise trip.
According to theNew York Times, the outbreak onboard the Vista was the biggest reported since June, when cruises in the United States and the Caribbean resumed following COVID-related closures in 2020.
“Those few guests who cannot be vaccinated are tested twice before boarding the ship, and again at debarkation. And all guests must wear masks in the indoor areas of the ship where people gather, such as dining rooms, theaters and casinos,” the statement continued. “Unfortunately, no venue on land or at sea is COVID-free right now, but we are committed to protecting the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit and have not hesitated to act quickly and go beyond existing public health guidelines.”
A spokesperson for Carnival told PEOPLE in a statement at the time of the outbreak that they were “managing a small number of positive COVID cases on Carnival Vista sailing out of Galveston.”
“We have managed the situation utilizing stringent health protocols which included placing those who tested positive in isolation and close contacts in quarantine,” a cruise line spokesperson said.
A press release from the Belize Tourism Board announced in astatementat the time that no new cases on the ship were found after Aug. 11.
Breakthrough cases— COVID-19 infections that occur in people who have been fully vaccinated against the virus — are rare, but possible and expected, as the vaccines are not 100% effective in preventing infections. Still, vaccinated people who test positive will likely be asymptomatic or experience a far milder illness than if they were not vaccinated. The majority of deaths from COVID-19 — around 98 to 99% —are in unvaccinated people.
Carnival also announced that they would be implementing anew policybeginning on Aug. 15 requiring all vaccinated guests to also show proof of a negative COVID test taken within 24 hours of departure — a rule that was already in place for unvaccinated guests.
Passengers on Carnival cruise ships are required to be vaccinated unless they have a medical or religious exemption or they are a child under 12 who is ineligible.
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
