The cruise ship "Aida Perla" was not allowed to call a port on Saturday for security reasons. Many passengers on board had flu-like symptoms.
- The “Aida Perla” was initially not allowed to call the port of St. Lucia in the Caribbean on Saturday.
- Since many passengers complained of flu-like symptoms, the ship was not released.
- However, it was never suspected that the coronavirus * was in circulation on board.
St. Lucia - Almost 3,000 passengers on board the cruise ship " Aida Perla " experienced hours of anxiety on Saturday . The ship was initially not allowed to call the port of Castries on the island of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean . The background was that a number of passengers on board had complained of flu-like symptoms (how to protect yourself against the coronavirus.)
Coronavirus fear: cruise ship was not allowed to call port - passengers complained of flu symptoms
The " Aida Perla " did not receive a permit shortly before it entered the port of Castries . The Aida company confirmed the incident to the Ippen-Digital central editorial office . "Due to some guests with upper respiratory tract infections on board, the health authorities have not given clearance as a precaution," the statement said.
As reported by the portal sea1.de, more than 70 people with flu-like symptoms and colds had reported on board in the past nine days. On Saturday, almost 20 people were sick. The port of Saint Lucia had therefore actively asked about sick people on board. The portal concludes that they wanted to "play it safe" on the Caribbean island.
The #Caribbean island #StLucia gave #AIDAperla no clearance yesterday because 20 guests with flu-like symptoms were on board
All further information https://t.co/EPK6YLQphB#coronavirus #influenza #kreuzfahrt #kreuzfahrtschiff #karibik #krank
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It goes on to say that a back and forth had preceded. Accordingly, the ship initially did not receive clearance for the port. Captain Tommy Möller then decided to go to the port of Fort de France in Martinique, just under 80 kilometers away. On the way there they received the dock clearance from Castries, whereupon the cruise ship turned.
Shortly before St. Lucia, the news from the port should have come that the "Aida Perla" should remain outside the port. Health officials from St. Lucia would come on board and check the sufferers. After all, Aida made it clear: "At no time did the health authorities suspect that there were cases of the novel corona virus on board the ship." The situation is currently different for a cruise ship off Japan: this is now in quarantine.
However, the “Aida Perla” was still in front of the port of Saint Lucia around 10pm on Saturday and had no permission to dock. On Sunday it was decided to go to the port of Fort de France. According to the report by sea1.de , it was feared on the "Aida Perla" that the port of Dominica would also not give the ship clearance.
“AIDAperla invested in Fort-de-France (Martinique) on Sunday morning, February 2, 2020. In the evening, AIDAperla sets course for Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) as planned, ”confirmed Aida to the Ippen-Digital central editorial team .
Meanwhile, Germans have been flown out of China. Two of them were infected with the coronavirus. Meanwhile, there is also progress in the fight against the corona virus: researchers have reported a breakthrough that could be crucial on the way to a cure.
Coronavirus in China: Cruise line companies take consequences
The international cruise lines will no longer allow passengers or crew members on board who have been traveling to mainland China in the past 14 days. The international cruise association CLIA announced on Monday in Hamburg. In addition, travel and routes would be rescheduled, changed or deleted in coordination with the health authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO) because of the corona virus. That is the responsibility of the respective shipping company. Weighing up between sensible measures and scaremongering also makes sense in other ways, as events in Germany show.
The cruise lines Costa Crociere and MSC had already canceled all cruises starting from Chinese ports due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Also read: 7,000 people have been stuck on a cruise ship on the Italian coast for hours. Italy has now taken a drastic step.
An Instagram video with a possible corona virus background irritates many viewers.
The Webasto company has decided to remain closed until February 11th. A local gastronomy in Stockdorf feels the lack of a thousand employees enormously.
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* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.