A passenger that was aboard the MSC Orchestra‘s latest cruise has tested positive for COVID-19. The vessel left Durban’s port on 13 March and returned on 16 March amid strong criticism for going ahead with the cruise despite various safety warnings.
MSC Cruises, however, issued a statement saying the cruise company followed all protocols at the time.
Authorities are currently trying to find all 3,337 people, including crew, who were on board the ship and thus potentially exposed to the virus.
The test results of the patient (a woman of undisclosed identity and location) were confirmed by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and communicated to MSC on Friday 27 March.
‘The passenger had not shown any symptoms when going through the medical and travel history screening that all passengers and crew go through, prior to embarking on a cruise. She also did not report any symptoms to the ship’s on-board medical staff during the three-day cruise,’ MSC spokesperson Ross Volk said.
Volk also added that MSC immediately communicated to all passengers involved that a fellow passenger had tested positive for the coronavirus upon her return home.
‘We recommended that they look out for any flu-like symptoms and quickly report any cold or flu symptoms or fever to their local health authority and to their general practitioner,’ he said. ‘We also recommended that they should continue to take a number of steps to reduce the risk of infection.’
Source: IOL
Image: Twitter/AfricaMentor
