A British passenger brought ashore from a stranded cruise ship died in a Merida hospital on Friday, the second announced coronavirus death here in one day.
The fatality quickly followed news of Yucatan’s first official death from COVID-19, a man in his mid-30s.
Reporters learned of the passenger’s death from anonymous employees at the Hospital Regional del Alta Especialidad de la Península de Yucatán, where coronavirus patients who require hospitalization are sent.
The cruise ship passenger, 70, was among several who were quietly escorted off the Marella Explorer 2, which was sailing in the Caribbean. Initial reports said four crew members tested positive for the coronavirus. The ship was then turned away from several ports before being accepted in Yucatan on humanitarian grounds.
The state government has already reported the death to the federal authorities and the British Embassy. His widow, a 65-year-old British citizen, also contracted COVID-19, but has mild symptoms and is reportedly in isolation. His death and her treatment here won’t appear on official lists of Yucatecan or Mexican coronavirus deaths or cases because they arrived already infected.
The deceased and his wife are from Berwick, residents of Northumberland, England.
It was not reported until Friday that two Britons were being treated at a hospital in Merida.
The state government says that all the protocols and guidelines established by the World Health Organization and federal authorities were followed.
