Dozens of passengers are held in quarantine on a Cambodian river cruise boat after a British woman, 65, tested positive for coronavirus
- British woman caught COVID-19 from Vietnamese national on a flight to Hanoi
- Cambodia’s third case said to be ‘in good health’ at the Kampong Cham Hospital
- Some 62 passengers and crew on Viking Mekong cruise quarantined for 14 days
Dozens of passengers have been held in quarantine on a Cambodian river cruise boat after a British woman tested positive for coronavirus.
The vessel was placed under police guard after it was moored on the Mekong River near Kampong Cham, southeastern Cambodia, on Tuesday.
The British woman, 65, was transported to the Kampong Cham Hospital for observation and treatment after it emerged she was infected with COVID-19.
Health Minister Mam Bunheng confirmed the remaining 62 passengers and crew aboard the Viking River Cruises vessel would be tested for the virus and quarantined for 14 days.
Health officials arrive to test some 62 passengers and crew aboard a river cruise boat docked along the Mekong River in Kampong Cham, Cambodia for coronavirus
Four other passengers from the UK have already been tested with negative results.
The Viking Mekong cruise, which lasts eight days, began in Ho Chi Mihn City in Vietnam and travelled to Cambodian capital Phnom Penh before arriving in Kampong Cham.
Mam Bunheng said the British woman, who is Cambodia’s third confirmed case of coronavirus, contracted the virus ‘from a Vietnamese national who sat beside her’ on a flight from the UK to Hanoi, Vietnam last week.
He added that she then boarded the ship in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on March 5 before arriving in Phnom Penh on March 7, the Phnom Penh Post reported.
Tourists watch on as the vessel was placed under police guard after it was moored on the Mekong River near Kampong Cham, southeastern Cambodia, on Tuesday
A British woman, 65, was transported to the Kampong Cham Hospital for observation and treatment after it emerged she was infected with COVID-19
Mam Bunheng said Cambodian health officials had initially attempted to test five British nationals for COVID-19 on Saturday after they were warned the tourists had been in contact with a Vietnamese coronavirus patient.
He said tests were carried out on three of the five at the Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital, but two women refused to take the test.
‘But the test could only be done on three of them and the results were negative. Two other women initially refused to take the COVID-19 test,’ Mam Bunheng said.
‘But they agreed to do so when they reached Kampong Cham, and this is when we identified the 65-year-old British woman to be COVID-19 positive.’
He added that the British woman who was diagnosed with the virus is ‘in good general health.’
Health Minister Mam Bunheng confirmed the remaining 63 passengers and crew aboard the Viking River Cruises vessel (pictured) would be tested for the virus and quarantined for 14 days
The Viking Mekong cruise, which lasts eight days, began in Ho Chi Mihn City in Vietnam and travelled to Cambodian capital Phnom Penh before arriving in Kampong Cham
Ministry of Health spokesperson Or Vandin said Cambodian authorities are in the process of identifying others who have been in contact with the patient.
The diagnosis comes after seven Britons tested positive for coronavirus in Vietnam after sharing a plane with a globe-trotting super-spreader who attended fashion shows across Europe.
The UK citizens – all aged between 58 and 74 – are thought to have caught the killer disease from Nguyen Hong Nhung on the London to Hanoi flight on March 2.
Super-spreader Ms Nhung, 26, the daughter of a wealthy Vietnamese steel magnate, tested positive last week after attending luxury catwalks in Milan and Paris.
It is unclear whether the Cambodian case is related to Ms Nhung.
Viking River Cruises has been contacted for comment.