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A scientology cruise ship named The Freewinds, with approximately 300 crew members and passengers, was quarantined in port by the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia since officials discovered a female crew memeber on board has measles, a highly contagious disease.
“The confirmed case as well as other crew members are presently stable, but remain under surveillance by the ship’s doctor,” said Dr Merlene Frederick-James, St Lucia’s chief medical officer, noting that the incubation period of measles is 10 to 12 days before symptoms appear.
Officials on the island nation banned any passengers or crew members from leaving the ship on Tuesday after receiving news of the measles case that morning. After that, health officials supplied 100 doses of vaccine to the ship, according to reports. The most worrying thing is that the number of measles cases in the US has reached a 25-year peak with more than 700 people diagnosed as of this week, part of an international resurgence in the disease.
The church describes the Freewinds as a kind of moving Mount of Olives, the site of Jesus' ascension into heaven. It's the place where Scientologists can reach the highest level of spiritual attainment, OT VIII, which stands for Operating Thetan Level 8. What exactly that entails is the subject of some mystery (and a little suspicion) outside of Scientology; but the church describes it as "the pinnacle of a deeply spiritual journey."
"Years of training and auditing have brought him to this ultimate point. It is the most significant spiritual accomplishment of his lifetime and brings with it the full realization of his immortality," the church says, speaking of founder Ron Hubbard.
CNN reports that this week, actress Leah Remini, a former Scientologist who has become a fierce critic of the church, lodged some charges about the Freewinds on Twitter. Responding to a Newsweek article about the ship, she said, "This is just the tip of the iceberg for what staff members of The Freewinds, Scientology's ship of horrors, have to endure while serving people like Tom Cruise & David Miscavige," the church's current leader.
Remini also said that the apparent measles outbreak this week aboard the Freewinds poses a challenge to Scientologists' beliefs about their supernatural powers. Supernatural powers of Scientologists couldn’t help against measles this time so the ship was supplied with 100 doses of vaccine.
