Woman goes viral after getting kicked off cruise ship over positive COVID test
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NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- A woman from the Bronx went viral for video she took while being booted from a cruise over a positive COVID-19 test.
Laura Angelo says it was all a mistake, but cruise lines have strict measures in place to protect passengers.
"I'm feeling very dizzy," she said on the video. "I think I'm going to have a heart attack."
When she test positive aboard the Royal Caribbean ship, she lost it.
"I know I don't have COVID," she said. "You're (expletive) lying."
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She streamed it to millions, live, online, and on Thursday, she even wore a T-shirt mocking her tirade.
Angelo set sail on the Freedom of the Seas on July 5 to celebrate her friend's birthday.
"They said as long as you have a negative (test) 72 hours before," she said. "I have three negatives before the cruise."
But both she and her friend are unvaccinated.
"We give our passports, give negative COVID tests," she said. "I said, 'Is this for non vaccinated people?' The guy said yes."
However, the purple bracelets they were given were for vaccinated passengers. She said the company realized the mistake two days later.
"Once this was recognized, we immediately made the guests aware and tested them on board," Royal Caribbean said in a statement. "This test generated a positive result for COVID-19, which immediately activated our health and safety protocols."
That included taking another COVID test.
"They said it was positive," Angelo said. "I laughed. My tests can't be positive. There's no way in the world."
They were escorted off the ship by staffers in HazMat suits, with her shrink wrapped luggage.
She was flown back home to the Bronx, where she said she took three more COVID tests. All came back negative.
Angelo said she already had COVID in March.
"If someone has recently recovered from COVID, there's still a chance their tests can remain positive," ABC News medical contributor Dr. Darien Sutton said. "But doesn't mean they're still infectious."
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COVID is spreading in New York City, with the positivity rate climbing. The average, under 1% Monday, has surged to 1.43% as of Thursday.
A big reason is the delta variant.
"It's really concerning," Dr. Sutton said. "We have to pay attention to the way it grows. You'll see these small increases, then you'll see a large shift."
As the race to vaccinate continues with nearly 12,000 more people getting their shots in past 24 hours.
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