It was enough that the ship came from Hong Kong. The "Westerdam" had to drive through Asian waters for days, because of the fear of Covid-19 she was not allowed to dock anywhere - until Thursday. An Aida ship could face a similar odyssey.
Sihanoukville (dpa) - After days of odyssey through Asian waters, 2300 people literally saw land on board the "Westerdam": The cruise ship, which was not allowed to call several Asian ports because of the worry of the corona virus, has arrived in Cambodia.
The ship from Hong Kong landed in Sihanoukville on Thursday evening (local time), as port director Lou Kimchhun confirmed. According to the Holland America Line shipping company, 57 Germans were among the passengers on board the ship.
Meanwhile, the next odyssey of a cruise ship could already begin: The "Aidavita" of the Rostock shipping company Aida Cruises could not call the Vietnamese port city of Cai Lan in Halong Bay. The local tourism authority has prohibited passengers and crew from going ashore, said an employee of the authority. According to the shipping company, around 1,100 passengers and 400 crew members, mostly from Germany, are on the "Aidavita".
Aida Cruises spokesman for the German press agency in Rostock said that the ship had recently come from the Philippines and had never headed to a Chinese port. "There are no suspected cases or confirmed coronavirus diseases on board the" Aidavita "." The next stop of the "Aidavita" should now be the Thai port of Laem Chabang near Bangkok.
The around 1500 guests and 800 crew members of the "Westerdam" could not disembark immediately on Thursday. The port director explained that they would only be examined medically. Anyone who has symptoms such as fever will be checked for Sars-CoV-2. However, 20 suspected cases that were tested were not confirmed, the Khmer Times reported, citing the Ministry of Health. "The sick passengers had acute flu, sore throats and diarrhea, but all tests for Covid-19 or the new corona virus were negative," Ministry spokesman Or Vandin said.
The guests would be brought to the capital Phnom Penh in the next few days to go home from there, the shipping company said. The Holland America Line organizes the flights and reimburses the cost of the cruise. The Cambodian authorities are "extremely grateful" for their support. Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and Guam recently refused to allow the "Westerdam" to enter their ports. At first it was not clear how the Germans would go after their trip home. Embassy staff, including the German representative, were on site in Cambodia.
The ship started in Hong Kong on February 1 and was originally scheduled to end on February 15 in Yokohama, Japan. Another cruise ship, the "Diamond Princess" - is currently in quarantine in the port of this city. Up to Thursday, 218 people had been shown to be infected with Sars-CoV-2 on board. All of those affected were brought to clinics, some of whom were seriously ill.
The remaining approximately 3,600 passengers and crew members are said to remain on the ship at least until February 19, according to the current status. Seniors with chronic illnesses should be allowed to disembark earlier and stay in special accommodations until the precautionary isolation ends. According to the German embassy in Tokyo, ten German citizens are among the passengers on board. None of them have been infected so far.
On board the "Westerdam" the passengers were happy about the foreseeable end of the trip, as was seen on social media. The cereal at the buffet ran out, but the passengers were in good spirits, wrote the American Christina Kerby on Twitter. Lorraine Oliveira, a holidaymaker from England, wrote to the German press agency that medical precaution had been carried out on board, as well as increased hygiene and cleaning measures. She and her family had not been ashore since February 4.
Cambodia can now look forward to some praise. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, thanked the country via Twitter and Prime Minister Hun Sen. It was a welcome act of solidarity at a time when the world still had a chance to stop the virus and stigmatize it and avoid fear.
