Utterly heartbreaking and vivid account of life and death aboard the cruise ship Zaandam during the initial COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020.
When passengers, most of them over age 65, streamed onto the Holland America ship in Argentina, they had only minimal concern about the novel coronavirus that was just starting to hit the news. Over 1200 cruisers and 600 crew members were convinced that they were escaping on this planned 3-week voyage into areas that would be safe. Unfortunately, a stowaway was also on board and within days of the Zaandam embarkation, people began coughing and developing symptoms indicating that the virus had come along. Because so little was known about how the virus was transmitted, how to confirm a diagnosis, or how to take care of people exhibiting the signs of disease, mistakes were made. In another colossal failure, the ship had only a small medical unit with two doctors and minimal supplies and medications to even begin to care for the incoming deluge of patients. Even worse, there were no reliable COVID tests on the ship so tracking the spread proved nearly impossible.
Meanwhile, as the communications between ship and shore intensified, passengers were quarantined in their cabins so the crew members, many of them sick themselves, were expected to continue laundry and food service to the passenger rooms at unprecedented levels. Left adrift in the ocean for weeks on end, the Zaandam was denied port entry as the world was shutting down. All the basic necessities were running low, the medical unit was filled to capacity, the crew members were sick and dying, and the passengers were locked in their rooms, many sick and untended. What a nightmare. The ship was deemed a pariah and left to wander the oceans, doomed to wait until someone let them come into safe harbor.
This was a grueling read and I had to stop often as the emotional stories got to me. I was angry even as I understood that ignorance of the condition, so profound in the early days of the global pandemic, resulted in so many egregious errors in how this situation was handled. The Zaandam was not the only cruise ship out on the waters with sick and dying people on board. An overwhelming situation was occurring on land at the same time, and things were dire everywhere as a worldwide shutdown began. The personal accounts by passengers and crew that were related in this book really demonstrated the reality of the crisis and the hopelessness all experienced. Difficult to read, especially in retrospect now that we are two years out from the beginning of this disease, I am glad so many survived despite the seemingly insurmountable odds. It is important to remember that there are always heroes in any disaster; it just may be that they are not the ones you imagine.
Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend. It is definitely not for the faint of heart.
This is a standalone and not part of any series.
Genre - nonfiction drama
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