More than 300 people stuck on a cruise ship operated by the Church of Scientology will remain quarantined one week after a case of measles was reported on board.
Authorities in Curacao have said 318 passengers will stay on the Freewinds ship until they have determined how many might be infected with the highly-contagious disease.
A team of health officials have taken 277 blood samples and sent them to the Netherlands, Dr Izzy Gerstenbluth said, but results are not expected until Tuesday or Wednesday.
Health authorities first placed the ship under quarantine on Monday 29 April off the coast of St Lucia after a female crew member was diagnosed with measles, officials said.
It was later allowed to travel to its home port on the island of Curacao, where it was placed under quarantine again.
Dr Gerstenbluth said 31 crew members and 10 passengers who have provided vaccination certificates may be allowed to disembark early.
However, the atmosphere on the boat is believed to be good and passengers are cooperating with tests.
The doctor previously told Reuters the relatively confined interior of the Freewinds ship means passengers are at risk of catching the disease, despite the measles-infected crew member being restricted to her cabin since she was diagnosed.
The 440-foot cruise ship has been described as a floating “religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counselling in the Scientology religion”.
However, in 2011, an Australian woman claimed she was held against her will on the Freewinds for 12 years and forced to do hard labour in the ship’s engine room.
The Church of Scientology has denied those claims.
The quarantine comes as the number of measles cases in the US has reached a 25-year peak with more than 750 cases diagnosed this year, as of 3 May.
Public health officials have blamed declining vaccination rates in some communities for the outbreaks, caused in part by misinformation spread on social media.
Health authorities in Los Angeles ordered quarantines on two university campuses last month after both reported at least one confirmed case.
Additional reporting by agencies
