The corona virus has already appeared on several cruise ships. But even if no cases are known yet, strict hygiene regulations apply to many holiday ships.
Rostock (dpa) - The cruise industry is one of the world's growth sectors. Every day, several hundred of these ships travel the world's oceans. Thousands of people live together in the tightest of spaces - an ideal place to spread pathogens without strict hygiene. Shipping companies worldwide have been alarmed since a new lung disease started circulating in China.
"We are extremely attentive," said the spokesman for the shipping company Aida Cruises, based in Rostock, Hansjörg Kunze. The crucial step is to prevent infected people from coming on board. Chinese ports are currently no longer being used, including Hong Kong and Macau. This currently affects two Aida ships whose routes have been changed. Passengers would receive a health questionnaire on all ships before boarding. "Anyone who was in China 14 days earlier will not be taken away." Aida has never had a suspected coronavirus.
The pathogen has already appeared on other cruise ships. It was detected in well over 100 of the people on board the "Diamond Princess". According to the current status, the remaining 3,600 passengers and crew members will remain in quarantine on the cruise ship off Yokohama in Japan until February 19. According to the German Embassy in Tokyo, ten German citizens are on board. In Hong Kong, however, 3,600 people have been allowed to leave the "World Dream" cruise ship. The ship had been arrested last week after the virus had been detected in three previous passengers.
The problem is the up to 14-day period from infection to illness that requires quarantine, said Emil Reisinger, tropical medicine specialist and infectiologist at Rostock University Medical Center. The hygiene standard on cruise ships is generally high. This is also urgently necessary, since many passengers lived together in a limited space. The obligatory hand disinfection can also offer some protection against the corona virus, since the new virus can also be transmitted through smear infections.
The cruise industry tightened its precautionary measures on Friday (February 7). Passengers or crew members who have traveled from or via China 14 days prior to embarkation or in transit through airports in this region - including Hong Kong and Macau - are no longer permitted to board a cruise ship. In addition, the international cruise association Clia announced that all people who may have had contact with an infected person would be denied boarding. A number of cruises that would have led to China have been rescheduled, changed or canceled.