Coronavirus: passengers stranded on World Dream cruise ship in Hong Kong ‘could be allowed to leave as soon as Tuesday’
- All 35 crew members and nine passengers who had earlier reported fever or respiratory symptoms test negative for deadly coronavirus
- Chief port health officer at the Centre for Health Protection says all workers on ship will be tested by Tuesday and if clear, everyone can disembark
Thousands of passengers stranded on a cruise ship docked in Hong Kong could leave as soon as Tuesday if all crew members on board test negative for the coronavirus, the health authorities announced on Saturday.
Dr Leung Yiu-hong, chief port health officer at the Centre for Health Protection, said all 35 crew members and nine travellers on the World Dream who had earlier reported fever or respiratory symptoms were found not to have the virus.
But some passengers remained uncertain of their fate, with tensions rising as film screenings and mahjong were dropped from on-board entertainment and small arguments broke out.
Thousands more cruise passengers might have been exposed to coronavirus
Leung said it was still possible that most of the 1,800 crew members on the ship had contact with the eight infected travellers who had been on the ship during an earlier cruise in January, or other passengers who had encountered the patients on that same trip.
To be safe, all workers would be tested for the virus as suggested by medical experts, he said.
“We expect the test will take four days to complete,” he said. “If all samples for all crew members test negative, then passengers should be able to get off the ship.”
The World Dream left Hong Kong for Taiwan on February 2 carrying more than 1,800 passengers and about the same number of crew members.
It returned to the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal on Wednesday after being turned away by the Taiwanese authorities following the discovery that it had carried passengers infected with the virus during a cruise between Hong Kong and Vietnam.
He reiterated that travellers on the ship now did not have any direct contact with the infected group.
“If the 1,800 crew members all tested negative, there would be a slim chance of the travellers on board getting infected,” he said.
Leung said officers began collecting samples from crew members for testing on Saturday afternoon.
The chief port health officer said if one person tested positive for the virus, then authorities would identify those who had close contact with the patient and place them in quarantine.
Leung said that those on the ship who did not have direct contact with the confirmed case but had encountered with the patient could be monitored.
He advised passengers not to engage in activities involving groups of people. The ship’s operator has closed public facilities to reduce the chances of infection.
A project manager who gave her name as Michelle said the development came too late to allow her to make it to her friend’s wedding on Sunday. She had scheduled a flight back to Britain for Wednesday.
“They could have done the lab test the moment we arrived,” the 27-year-old said. “Instead they insisted on doing body temperature checks and waited until now to go for the lab test.”
She was unsure if she would catch her flight because the tests were due for completion on Tuesday at the earliest.
Cruise ship faces quarantine, previous passengers found with coronavirus
Busker Rex Lui, 56, speculated that passengers could also be tested for the virus at a later date, leaving him stranded for even longer.
“I have prepared to stay here for 14 days. It doesn’t affect me much,” he said.
He sensed other passengers were not as calm as they were the first two days, with some complaining about mahjong and film activities being cut.
“Without entertainment, passengers cannot release their emotions,” he said. “When people can play mahjong, they can think less … they can stay happy.”
A 66-year-old clerk who identified himself as Chan said he saw passengers resorting to private games of mahjong they had brought on board.
Chan said he was still uncertain when he would be free because there could be further reports of people falling ill.
He also said tensions were rising among passengers, saying he heard trivial arguments breaking out.
“Such emotions have started to accumulate,” he said.
In January, more than 4,600 passengers were on board with the infected group to Vietnam, including 206 who disembarked in Hong Kong.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said authorities could trace 106 of the 206 travellers. Four of them had reported feeling sick, but were found negative for the new virus.
Chuang said officers were trying to reach out to the other passengers.
