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Two cruise passengers have spoken out about a harrowing experience that forever changed their lives.
They told The Independent they were severely injured during a shore excursion to a volcano in 2019.
Since the incident, the pair have been locked in a legal battle, along with other passengers.
Two Royal Caribbean cruise passengers have spoken out about a harrowing experience they endured during an excursion to a volcanic site.
In an interview with The Independent on Thursday, Matt Urey and Lauren Barham said that in 2019, a volcano they were visiting during a shore excursion erupted in front of them. It caused severe injuries, according to the pair, who live in Richmond, Virginia.
They told the outlet that the recent volcanic eruption near Tonga filled them with a sense of dread, given their own experiences.
In December 2019, Urey and Barham boarded Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas to celebrate their honeymoon, according to a lawsuit that was filed two years ago.
On one day, the couple took a trip to New Zealand's White Island Volcano as part of a shore excursion. They said they were led to what appeared to be the center, when it erupted shortly afterwards, leaving the couple with severe burns.
Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
According to the couple's lawsuit, Urey suffered burns to 54% of his body and Barham to 23% of her body.
"We literally took off running for our lives," Urey told The Independent. "It was pure terror."
Multiple publications reported at the time that 22 people were killed in the catastrophic eruption and dozens were left with burns.
"We heard our tour guide shout run, and that was when it all hit," Urey said. Barham added that she was sure she was going to die.
The couple alleged in their lawsuit that Royal Caribbean failed to alert cruise passengers about the risks involved in visiting the island.
Royal Caribbean has its headquarters in Florida, which in June 2021, was ruled to be the correct jurisdiction for legal action taken on behalf of fellow passengers to proceed.
People clear the virus at different speeds so the length of time infected varies.
Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle/Getty Images
UK health officials estimated the impact of different isolation periods on COVID-19 infectiousness.
Five days from symptoms or a positive test, 31% of people with COVID-19 were contagious, they said.
Testing negative on rapid tests on days 5 and 6 cut the risk of being infectious to 7%, they said.
It's a critical question that has played on the minds of individuals with COVID-19 who want to see friends and relatives again: how long should I isolate for to make sure I'm not contagious?
So far, there doesn't seem to be a universally accepted answer.
In the US, government rules allow most people to end isolation after five days without having to take a test; that contrasts with the UK, where Brits with COVID-19 can exit at day six but only after testing negative for the last two days of isolation and without a fever. Without a test, they have to wait ten full days.
Policymakers have to strike the balance between limiting the advance of the pandemic, while preventing the economy from grinding to a halt. President Biden's chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said December 28 that US COVID-19 isolation guidelines were designed to "get people back to jobs."
But some disease experts in both the UK and US have warned that isolation guidance doesn't follow science and risks people inadvertently spreading the virus at work or school, especially if they haven't taken a test.
Robert Wachter, a professor and chair of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco said on Twitter January 14, that his son's rapid test was positive at Day 10. "If we hadn't tested, he'd be on his third day of work," he said.
The UK Health and Security Agency, which informs UK policy, estimated that almost a third of people with COVID-19 were still contagious five days after symptom onset or a positive test. Only 7% of people who isolated for five days and tested negative on days five and six of isolation were still contagious, according to the models. For comparison, the amount of people infectious after ten days is 5%, the data shows.
Gary McLean, a professor of molecular immunology at London Metropolitan University, told Insider that, generally, people with COVID-19 were "potentially infectious" from two days before symptoms and up to ten days after.
McLean said that there was a good chance of not being infectious anymore if the UK guidance was followed, but it wasn't foolproof.Immunity and the number of virus particles with which they were infected can determine for how long a patient remains infectious, he said. "Everyone's a bit different," he said.
The estimates are also not specifically for Omicron infections.
Lawrence Young, a virologist and professor of molecular oncology at Warwick University, told Insider at the time of the data release that there wasn't much data on the dynamics of an Omicron infection, compared with other variants. This means we can't predict exactly how infectious someone with Omicron is.
Both Young and McLean agreed that the UKHSA data was the "best available" to guide what to do if you're not sure whether you're infectious or not, with the caveat it wasn't exact for every case.
Other early data:
Japan
A study of 21 people found vaccinated people hospitalized with Omicron had peak levels of infectious virus particles three to six days after diagnosis or symptom onset. No infectious virus particles were detected after 10 days, the study authors said.
UK
Study from researchers at Exeter University, UK published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases found 3% of 176 participants carried potentially infectious virus particles at day 10. Some people retained these levels of virus for up to 68 days, they said. The study was carried out before Omicron became the most common variant.
Scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that the number of days people were infectious in the community could be cut to almost zero by requiring at least two consecutive days of negative tests. This is regardless of the number of days after initially testing positive.
The researchers cautioned that the models used pre-Omicron data. The study hasn't been published or formally scrutinized by other experts in a peer review.
US
Early research from the US suggested both Omicron and Delta infections last about 10 days and people with Omicron have lower peak virus particles levels. The methods used don't necessarily predict infectiousness, James Hay, the study lead from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, cautioned on Twitter.
A graph shows cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people in NYC. Recent data may be incomplete.
NYC Health
Data from New York City's Department of Health shows vaccinated people largely avoided Omicron.
When COVID-19 cases spiked in early January, unvaccinated people were far more likely to get sick.
Most people who have been hospitalized or died of COVID-19 were not vaccinated.
The arrival of the Omicron variant created a sense of unease for most New Yorkers. But according to recent data from New York City's health department, vaccinated residents have been far less likely to test positive, become severely ill, or die of COVID-19 compared to unvaccinated people in this recent surge.
A series of graphs on the department's COVID-19 data homepage were updated Friday with data from early January, when cases of COVID-19 appeared to peak.
During the week ending January 8, unvaccinated people tested positive at rates 13 times higher than people who had received a full course of vaccines.
People are considered vaccinated at least two weeks after receiving a second dose of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine.
The city noted that the data from recent weeks may be incomplete. Given the fragmented nature of COVID testing in the US, it's possible that not all test results have made it to the city's health department. (If you tested positive with an at-home rapid kit, you may be one of those cases.)
Other graphs showed that rates of hospitalizations and deaths per 100,000 people were also much higher for unvaccinated people compared to the vaccinated population.
A graph shows hospitalizations related to COVID-19 per 100,000 people in NYC. Recent data may be incomplete.
NYC Health
The vaccines were already very good at preventing hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19 before Omicron emerged. While that decreased significantly with the onset of the new variant, the timing of booster shots helped soften the blow.
Although experts agree that Omicron has posed a challenge for vaccine-induced immunity, the addition of a booster shot to the recommended vaccine schedule reduced the risk of hospitalization by at least 90%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A graph shows deaths related to COVID-19 per 100,000 people in NYC. Recent data may be incomplete.
NYC Health
The New York City data dashboard does not include booster status, so people who completed their first course of COVID-19 vaccines without a booster were also included in the vaccinated category.
New York officials said cases in the city began to plateau on January 11, a month into the Omicron surge. Hospitalizations and deaths tend to spike after cases do, and with Omicron still raging through the rest of the country, it's too soon to say New York is out of the woods.
All three major stock market indices were below their 200-day moving averages on Friday as volatility soared.
The Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones closed below the widely followed technical indicator on Thursday, while the S&P 500 broke below the key level Friday afternoon. The moving average helps traders identify the underlying trend of a security or index.
Meanwhile, Wall Street's fear gauge soared as much as 52% this week, with the VIX hitting 29 and reaching its highest level since early December.
The trend of interest rates remains higher, and that could continue to put pressure on high-growth tech stocks that have little-to-no earnings, according to Chris Murphy, Susquehanna International Group's co-head of derivatives strategy.
"Until the strong negative correlation between US Treasury yields and equities breaks down, it will be hard for an extended rally to form," he explained in a Thursday note.
Year-to-date, the Nasdaq 100 is down 11% while the S&P 500 is down 8%. The last time they traded below their respective 200-day moving averages was in the second quarter of 2020.
While there tends to be a lot of volatility and so-called head fakes when the stock market trades around that indicator, Murphy pointed out that signs of capitulation among investors are starting to percolate.
"We have highlighted a plethora of capitulation indicators over the past few days including: 10% correction in the [Nasdaq], term structure inversions in [Nasdaq] and [S&P 500], AAII bull/bear at lows, extreme shifts in sentiment and positioning," he said.
For the week ending January 19, the percent of bullish investors responding to AAII's sentiment survey fell to 21%, representing its lowest level since summer of 2020. At the same time, bearish responses surged to 47%, its highest level since spring of 2020.
But washed-out sentiment is seen by some traders as a contrarian indicator. Earnings season is also set to heat up over the next two weeks, with more than 60% of the S&P 500 and 70% of the Nasdaq 100 set to report by February 4. Solid results and commentary from corporate America could remind investors that the underlying driver of stock market returns — earnings — are expected to rise despite imminent interest rate hikes.
And there is little indication of stress in the credit markets that would point to a broader systemic issue hurting stocks. Demand for high-yield bonds has remained strong relative to treasuries.
For now, the stock market's roughly 10% decline after nearly two years of unrelenting gains is a reminder to investors that stocks do, in fact, go down.
British cruise line Cunard operates the world's only pet-friendly ship, sailing between New York and England.
The company's dedicated pet kennel, complete with a play area and attendants, costs owners $800-$1000 per voyage.
Cunard is an option for people who want to travel overseas with their pets but are hesitant to put them in airline cargo.
Traveling with pets can be stressful, especially when you have to take an international flight. Some animals are small enough to fit under the seat in the cabin, but many are too large and must be placed in cargo.
Pets traveling by air.
Checking your animal as a cargo-passenger may sometimes be your only option, but if you truly hate the idea of putting your pet in the belly of a plane, there is one other way to get your pet safely across the Atlantic.
American Airlines cargo handler with dog.
Cunard, a British-based cruise line, is the only passenger vessel worldwide that offers pet-friendly sailings onboard its Queen Mary 2 ship.
Cunard Line Queen Mary 2.
The company's animal service has been in operation for over 100 years. The pet-friendly policy dates back to 1840, when the Britannia's maiden voyage carried a cow to provide milk for passengers.
Britannia 1840 painting.
The Britannia was Cunard's first ocean liner. Successor ships like the Queen Mary, the Queen Elizabeth, and the Aquitania joined the fleet throughout the 1900s.
Cunard's Aquitania.
Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
According to Cunard historian Michael Gallagher, the ships carried many famous pets across the Atlantic, including the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's dog in the 1950s ...
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor with dog.
Cunard Line
… Canadian surgeon Dr. Byson M. Unkary's three Afghan hounds that were valued at over $3,300 …
Afghan hounds onboard the Queen Elizabeth.
Cunard Line
… and even actress Elizabeth Taylor's french poodle, Teeny, in 1947. Gallagher told Insider the ships have also welcomed pigeons and eagles that were fed and cared for onboard.
Elizabeth Taylor with her dog aboard the Queen Mary.
Cunard Line
Today, the Queen Mary 2 operates the transatlantic pet voyage, which is the successor to the first Queen Mary that debuted in 1934. The original is now a floating hotel anchored in Long Beach, California, though it has been temporarily closed due to COVID-19.
Queen Mary in Long Beach, California.
The new and improved luxury Queen Mary 2 was first unveiled in 2004 and remastered for $132 million in 2016. The multi-million dollar investment not only upgraded the passenger areas of the ship, which can accommodate up to 2,691 people, but also expanded the pet kennels.
Queen Mary 2 kennel masters with dogs.
Upgrades include the addition of 12 more kennels — bringing the total to 24 — and development of an owner's lounge, new pet playground, and expanded outdoor area.
Celebrity dog Wally hops out of one of the kennels aboard the ocean liner Queen Mary 2.
To make the animals feel more at home whether from England or the US, the company added an English lamppost and an American fire hydrant to the space.
English lamppost and American fire hydrant.
Cunard recently resumed its pet service as travel rates begin to normalize. Prior to the pandemic, the kennels were in high demand and had to be booked far in advance, with passengers ponying up $800-$1000 per sailing. Cats and larger dogs require two kennels, costing double.
Cunard pet kennel onboard Queen Mary 2.
The cruise employs Oliver Cruz, its dedicated "Kennel Master," and assistants to care for the dogs and cats on board. Cunard told Insider that Cruz is responsible for feeding, walking, and cuddling the pampered pets.
Oliver Cruz with Chloe, Ella Bean, and Wally.
Diane Bondareff/Cunard Line
He is also in charge of cleaning the kennels and disposing of pet waste. According to Cunard, all areas of the kennel are deep-cleaned between each sailing.
Pet onboard the Queen Mary 2.
"It is just logic that I can now enjoy the best of both worlds ... working with animals whilst working at sea," Cruz said in an email shared with Insider.
Oliver Cruz with Ella Bean.
Diane Bondareff/Cunard Line
According to Cunard, owners can visit their pets during certain hours of the day, but animals cannot stay in the passenger cabins, and are boarded separately from human travelers onboard.
Dogs playing on the deck with owners.
A professional photographer will even do a photoshoot with passengers and their pets during the cruise, complete with a bellhop hat and jacket for the animals.
Pet photo shoot.
