Cruise ship returns to Singapore over suspected COVID-19 case, says a Reuters news report by Aradhana Aravindan and Chen Lin.
What happened to the cruise ship?
A 40-year-old passenger tested positive onboard and the result was confirmed after the person was taken to hospital once the ship docked early on Wednesday, the Singapore Tourism Board said, following the detection of the suspected case.
Guests began leaving a Genting Cruise Lines “cruise to nowhere” on Wednesday night after nearly 3,000 passengers and crew were confined to their staterooms through most of the day following the detection of a COVID-19 case onboard.
A cruise ship operated by Genting Cruise Lines returned to Singapore a few hours ahead of schedule after a suspected COVID-19 case was found on board.
A passenger on board the ship told CNA that an announcement was made at about 1:00 a.m. that a guest had tested positive for COVID-19.
The World Dream ship arrived at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre at around 6:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, about three hours ahead of schedule, according to the report.
No comments from Singapore Tourism Board
The Singapore Tourism Board and Genting did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The ship left Singapore on Sunday for a four-day so-called “cruise to nowhere”, which are restricted only to residents of the city state and sail for a few days in nearby waters.
Global cruise industry has taken a major hit
The global cruise industry has taken a major hit from the coronavirus pandemic, with some of the earliest big outbreaks occurring on cruise ships in Asian waters.
Singapore, which has seen relatively few domestic COVID-19 cases, launched “round trips” on luxury liners in November, with no port of call during a few days of sailing.
Singapore reported 56 locally-transmitted coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the highest number of daily domestic infections recorded in about 10 months.
Local media reported that the case on the ship was part of a growing cluster of COVID-19 infections associated with karaoke lounges.
Details of passengers and crew members
The World Dream cruise liner had 1,646 passengers and 1,249 crew members on board and all, except essential service crew, had been required to remain in their staterooms with contactless meals sent to them, according to Dream Cruises, a part of Genting Cruise Lines.
The infected passenger’s three travelling companions tested negative and were isolated while further contact tracing was being done, the tourism board said. Close contacts will be quarantined, it added.
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Source: Reuters
