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“We’re isolated. We’re stuck on this ship. We can’t go anywhere because we’re not healthy, I guess,” said Joiner, who took a selfie in his cabin with a piece of paper on which he had written “HELP US” in a bid for attention from the media and the Canadian government.

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A ship official told passengers on Friday morning via a public address system that one guest had died several days ago, followed by two deaths on Thursday and another overnight, according to a recording heard by Reuters.

The four dead were “older guests,” the operator said.

Passengers said the announcement was the first time they had been made aware of the deaths on the 238-meter (781-foot) vessel.

The Zaandam departed Argentina on March 7 and had been scheduled to end its journey in San Antonio, Chile, on March 21. Nobody has disembarked from the ship since it docked in Punta Arenas on the southern coast of Chile nearly two weeks ago.

There are 1,243 guests and 586 crew on board, as well as four doctors and four nurses, the cruise operator said.

Holland America is owned by Carnival Corp. Carnival’s Princess Cruises earlier this month said it was suspending voyages for two month, after two of its ocean liners that had been quarantined became hotbeds for coronavirus infections.

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The ship official said a number of patients were tested on Thursday after the ship received virus testing kits. In another public address on Friday afternoon, also heard by Reuters, he said the situation appeared to be improving.