Scramble to contact 130 Britons freed from cruise ship in Cambodia after a US passenger tested positive for coronavirus while in transit in Malaysia
- An 83-year-old woman tested positive when she touched down in Kuala Lumpur
- Cruise operator Holland America said there was ‘no indication’ of the disease
- FCO offering consular assistance to passengers and asked them to get in touch
- Did you leave on the first wave on the MS Westerdam? Please get in touch: [email protected] 0203 615 1902
UK officials are scrambling to contact 130 Britons returning from a cruise that ended in Cambodia after it was revealed that a US passenger has tested positive for the coronavirus since leaving.
The MS Westerdam made shore in Sihanoukville on February 13 after being rejected by five countries over fears its passengers could be carrying the new virus, which has killed more than 2,000 people.
Hundreds were allowed off after basic health checks – among them an 83-year-old American woman who was later diagnosed with the virus while in transit in Malaysia.
She recorded a high temperature on landing in Kuala Lumpur and tested positive for the virus.
Cruise operator Holland America announced there was ‘no indication’ of the disease, which has infected over 75,000 people worldwide, on the ship.
The woman’s undetected infection has led to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advising UK passengers to get in touch.
A couple disembark from the MS Westerdam, which is docked in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, after testing negative for the coronavirus on February 14
The MS Westerdam cruise ship sits at a seaport in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, 14 February 2020
Cambodian health officials screening passengers aboard the Westerdam at Sihanoukville port on Saturday. The ship’s operator, Holland America Line, said in a statement Monday that Cambodian health officials were on board the ship testing the 255 guests and 747 crew who were awaiting clearance, and that guests currently staying at a Phnom Penh hotel had all been tested
According to the BBC, testing after the ship moored at the Sihanoukville was basic.
Of the 1,733 passengers on board the Westerdam, only 20 had full tests because they were displaying signs of the deadly virus.
However, those who weren’t showing symptoms filled out a form and had their temperature read, the BBC reported.
Jubliant passengers pose on a bus on Monday after being given the all clear to leave the Westerdam cruise liner, which has been moored at a Sihanoukville port for a week
The last passengers from the MS Westerdam, a cruise ship that spent two weeks at sea after being turned away by five countries over fears that someone aboard might have the coronavirus, travel in a bus towards Phnom Penh, after being cleared to disembark, in Sihanoukville, Cambodia today
The Westerdam began its cruise in Singapore last month and its last stop before it was refused further landings was in Hong Kong
Dr Asok Karup from the Infectious Diseases Care clinic in Singapore told the BBC it was ‘completely inappropriate’ to ask people to self-certify whether they were experiencing symptoms.
Of these initially selected passengers, the majority then left the ship and were taken to Phnom Penh.
Clinical testing only began after the initial wave of passengers had left.
Swabs from the more than 700 crew members aboard were still being collected, a Sihanoukville provincial spokesman said.
The majority of the guests were from the US, with 270 from Canada, 130 from the UK and 150 from Germany and the Netherlands.
In Phnom Penh, former passengers staying at a luxury hotel since Saturday rejoiced after Cambodia’s health ministry said more than 700 people tested over the past two days have been cleared.
‘All passengers have normal health with no noticeable problems and no-one had high temperatures,’ the ministry said in a statement.