Problem
The crisis simulation this week was carefully planned with a variety of breadcrumbs and red herrings.
In the first disruption, the white powder was a red herring...you had to focus on the "inhalation" version of anthrax to find out that it can only be contracted by coming in contact with wild animals. How many other white powders are in a ship's dining room? Did you quarantine the room? Did you consider terrorism?
In the second disruption, you had enough breadcrumbs to figure out that the people contracted the inhalation anthrax while on an unauthorized shore excursion in Belize. While symptoms can take up to a week to develop, they can also appear in as short as 24 hours. It is not contagious but must be treated immediately with high dose of antibiotics. There should be an adequate supply of antibiotics on the ship to begin treatment, but consideration needs to be given to getting the patients to a hospital as soon as possible to continue advanced treatment.
What did you do in response to both of these memos? How well did you work with your team? What steps did you take to control the situation? How did you communicate with any external parties (if at all)? How did the press conference go?