Reuters :
A Genting Cruise Lines ship on a “cruise to nowhere” has returned to Singapore after a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a passenger, and the nearly 3,000 passengers and crew on board were confined to their cabins through most of Wednesday.
The 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.
“The passenger was identified as a close contact of a confirmed case on land, and was immediately isolated as part of onboard health protocols,” the board said in a statement. Passengers said they found out about the suspected case in an announcement at around 1 a.m. and had been asked to stay in their rooms since. 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.
The World Dream cruise liner had 1,646 passengers and 1,249 crew members on board and all of them were required to remain in their staterooms with contactless meals sent to them, according to Dream Cruises, a part of Genting Cruise Lines.
The guest suspected of having COVID-19 had tested negative in a mandatory, pre-departure antigen rapid test before the ship set sail for a three-night cruise on Sunday.
The infected passenger’s three travelling companions tested negative and were isolated while further contact tracing was being done, the tourism board said.
Only essential service crew with personal protective equipment were being allowed limited movement within the ship, Dream Cruises said.
Passenger Rishi Lalwani said he was surprised by the positive case, given the testing and social distancing measures in place for the cruise.
“The COVID situation in Singapore seemed largely contained so, yes, a case in a cruise of 1,700 guests seemed a bit rare to happen. Especially because there haven’t been cases on cruises to nowhere for months,” said Lalwani.
