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Singapore: The cruise ship "Quantum of the Seas" is moored in the Marina Bay Cruise Center
Photo: Danial Hakim / dpa
A passenger on the cruise ship “Quantum of the Seas” operated by Royal Caribbean International has tested positive for the corona virus.
The person concerned is said to be an 83-year-old.
He had reported to the ship's doctor with bowel problems.
The head of the Singapore tourism authority, Annie Chang, told the Straits Times newspaper that the man had shown a negative corona test when he started his trip.
According to the tourism authorities in Singapore, all of the man's close contacts tested negative for Covid-19.
The captain asked the almost 1700 passengers to stay in the cabins.
The ship had to return to the port of Singapore at 8 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
It was not yet clear when the passengers could disembark, it said.
Before that, everyone would have to be tested for Covid-19.
According to a shipping company spokesman, there are currently 1680 passengers and 1148 crew members on board.
"The worst fears have come true," said a 31-year-old passenger to the Reuters news agency.
"I have no idea how the patient got infected," said Muhammad Rezal Ramli, 40, who is traveling with his two children.
“But even if we do get the disease, we can't complain about it because we were aware of the risk.
We booked the cruise, the possibility is always there. «
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Forced stay in Singapore: The passengers on the “Quantum of the Seas” hope to be able to go ashore soon
Photo: ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP
All passengers had submitted the mandatory negative corona tests before the start of the so-called “cruise without a destination” on Monday.
Due to the entry restrictions in the pandemic, the shipping company is offering boat trips without going ashore in order to partially offset financial losses.
The global cruise industry was hit early by the corona crisis, and the losses are huge.
More than 700 guests and crew members on the Diamond Princess off the Japanese coast were infected with the corona virus in February and were stuck for weeks.
Singapore has so far recorded 58,000 corona cases and 29 deaths, and in the past few weeks there are said to have been fewer than a handful of new infections.
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ala / Reuters
