FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — An Ocean Park couple were two of the thousands of passengers aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Florida that were finally allowed to dock after fear that the number of sick people on the ships would put more stress on the state’s health care system.

Tom and Venita Brazier were aboard the Zaandam, a Carnival Holland America cruise ship with a capacity of nearly 1,500 people, since departing Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 7. Four people aboard the ship have died since then, with at least two of the deaths having been due to covid-19 complications. In all, nine people aboard the ship have tested positive for the virus so far.

In an Associated Press story, Tom’s sister and fellow Ocean Park resident Mary Beth Van Horn said she was “terrified” for her brother, 77, who went on the cruise to South America before beginning new bone cancer treatment set for this month.

In a March 31 update on his Facebook page, Tom said both he and Venita are healthy but have been quarantined in their cabin since March 22. He hopes that authorities will take that into account when determining if additional self-isolation is required when the Zaandam docks in Port Everglades. The couple’s main concern is that they have enough prescribed medication to last the duration of their isolation.

CNN reported on April 2 that Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief said that a conditional agreement will allow healthy passengers aboard the ships to go home, while those who are sick will remain on the ship for treatment. Sharief also said no one on board is in need of a hospital bed.

Healthy passengers, Sharief told CNN, will be transported via a private bus to local airports for charter flights. There are 311 U.S. citizens from 46 states on the Zaandam, with other residents hailing from countries including Canada, the U.K and Australia.

See the Observer next week for more on this story.