SINGAPORE, July 14 — A cruise ship returned to Singapore after a COVID-19 case was found on board, Xinhua reported, quoting the Straits Times report on Wednesday.
The newspaper quoted Annie Chang, Singapore Tourism Board’s director of the cruise, as saying that a 40-year-old passenger was identified as the close contact of a previously confirmed case, and was immediately isolated as part of onboard health protocols.
The passenger underwent polymerase chain reaction tests onboard and tested positive for the coronavirus and has been taken to a hospital for further confirmatory testing.
Three travelling companions of the passenger were identified and isolated. They have tested negative for COVID-19 and further contact tracing is ongoing.
The ship, called World Dream, joined Genting Hong Kong’s Dream Cruises fleet in November 2017. It departed on Sunday for a four-day “cruise to nowhere.”
The ship returned to Singapore and arrived at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre at around 6.30 am local time on Wednesday, a few hours ahead of schedule.
The passenger was tested negative during the mandatory pre-departure antigen rapid test on the day of departure, and was reported to have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Sources: BERNAMA