COVID Positive Crew Member Results In Cancellation Of Hong Kong’s ‘Cruise To Nowhere’

Authorities prevented a cruise ship in Hong Kong from departing the city’s terminal on Thursday as a crew member was suspected to be COVID positive.

The Spectrum of the Seas ship had been scheduled to start a “cruise to nowhere” journey in the nearby waters, only for completely vaccinated guests. It was also restricted to half capacity and for those who tested negative for COVID-19 48 hours before the trip commenced.

About 1,000 out of 1,200 passengers had boarded the vessel before the four-night trip got canceled. All are supposed to undergo testing. However, they were permitted to leave the ship as none came in direct contact with the infected individual.

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Royal Caribbean in its statement on Facebook has declared publicly that during a routine test on crew members, they were able to identify a crew member who had tested indeterminate for Covid-19. Via secondary sample testing for the same, the result came positive.

In July, the same 40-year-old seaman had tested positive in Malaysia and tested negative for over 10 times since he returned to Hong Kong in August. He has also completed the Covid-19 vaccination with China’s Sinovac.

The Centre for Health Protection has reported that the latest sample had been collected on 19 October and had a significantly low viral. It also added that he was asymptomatic; hence, the decision to hold the ship seemed to be “a prudent measure”.

Chinese-ruled Hong Kong has maintained the most stringent restrictions and is virtually free of COVID-19. The city has reported just a little above 12,300 cases since the beginning of the ongoing pandemic. Of these, most were imported cases. The death count was 213.

Reference: scmp.com

COVID Positive Crew Member Results In Cancellation Of Hong Kong’s ‘Cruise To Nowhere’ appeared first on Marine Insight – The Maritime Industry Guide

Source: Maritime Shipping News