Fears mount over a new coronavirus case on the MS Westerdam cruise ship, one that was previously thought to be infection-free. Revelations came about early Sunday that an 83-year-old American woman on the ship had contracted the virus after passengers disembarked. Despite the rate of growth for new cases appearing to slow in China, the Westerdam raises concerns of other potential carriers of the virus at-large, according to the Washington Post.
According to the Holland America Line, a guest who “departed from Westerdam on Friday later reported feeling ill at the Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia airport and tested positive for coronavirus.” The woman, who was not named by the Malaysian Ministry of Health, is in stable condition.
She was screened multiple times. “The results were the same,” Wan Azizah told reporters at a news conference. “That is positive for the wife and negative for her husband. Malaysia barred entry for all passengers from the cruise ship, according to the Washington Post.
“We are in close coordination with some of the leading health experts from around the world,” said Dr. Grant Tarling, Chief Medical Officer for Holland America Line, said in a release from the cruise line. “These experts are working with the appropriate national health authorities to investigate and follow up with individuals who may have come in contact with the guest.”
As of Sunday morning, no other guests or crew on their way home had reported any symptoms of the illness. The passenger who tested positive also never visited the ship’s medical center while on board. All guests who arrived home will be contacted by the local health department.
Meanwhile, the MS Westerdam is still docked in Cambodia. 747 crew members and 233 guests were still awaiting arrangements to travel home as of Sunday morning. The Westerdam departed Hong Kong on Feb. 1 and was scheduled to disembark in Shanghai Saturday before coronavirus gripped mainland China, according to USA Today.
The ship tried to dock several times before being accepted in Cambodia. The Philippines barred the ship from making a scheduled port call during the sailing. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe barred the Westerdam from Yokahama. Guam, a U.S. territory, turned it away and rejected a request from the State Department to let the ship in. Thailand’s public health minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, also issued orders to deny disembark at Bangkok’s Laem Chabang port.
Despite slower rates in Mainland China, Taiwan reported its first fatality linked to the coronavirus, a man in his 60s. There are 20 confirmed cases on the island. The U.S. State Department is preparing to evacuate 380 Americans from another ship, the Diamond Princess, in Japan. There are roughly 69,000 cases worldwide. China also reported 2,009 new cases, but implemented stricter containment measures across China’s quarantined Hubei province with a ban on all nonessential trips outside homes.
U.S. Ambassador W. Patrick Murphy brought his family on board the cruise ship and posed for pictures Saturday with American passengers. Cambodia’s health minister issued a public statement urging the public to “not be overly afraid” but to take protective measures.
The unexpected illness on board allows the basic assumption that people can be greeted at proximity without protective gear and travel without guarantee they’ll contract the virus. Health experts still warn that the coronavirus is difficult to contain because the symptoms are often mild and that the coronavirus could replicate inside the human body and infect others for more than two weeks before showing symptoms at all, according to the Washington Post.
First published in print by The Stillman Exchange on February 24, 2020.
