After Holland America Line Cruise ship MS Westerdam had been turned away by five countries over corona-virus fears, it has now been allowed to dock on Cambodia.
The Asian country has agreed to let the Dutch operated cruise ship that was refused port over virus fears to dock and disembark its passengers in Cambodia.
The MS Westerdam, which has 1,455 passengers and 802 crew on board, will dock at the Cambodian sea port of Sihanoukville on Thursday, Holland America Line said.
The ship – which says it has no sick passengers – has been turned away from Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Guam and the Philippines, prompting fears prior to Wednesday’s announcement that it could run out of food as it searched for a port.
There are no confirmed cases of the virus on board the Westerdam, but it stopped in Hong Kong less than two weeks ago, which is within the incubation period of the virus.
The passengers include 650 from the USA, 271 from Canada, 127 from the UK and 91 from the Netherlands, with smaller numbers of people from Australia, Germany, China and other countries.
Officials in Japan, meanwhile, said another 39 people aboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner had been diagnosed with the virus, with one quarantine officer also infected, bringing the total number of cases to 175.
In all, Japan has confirmed 203 cases, prompting South Korea on Tuesday to “strongly advise” its citizens not to travel to Japan and several other countries in Asia.
The Guardian / ABC Flash Point News 2020.
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