Dutch citizens from the Westerdam cruise ship arrive at Schiphol Airport, The Netherlands, on Saturday (Feb 22). The crew of US cruise ship Westerdam were given the all-clear from the Covid-19 outbreak on Friday and left for Anchorage, Alaska on Saturday. - AFP
PHNOM PENH: The Westerdam cruise ship departed from a Cambodian port on Saturday morning (Feb 22) after being turned away by several Asian nations over (Covid-19) coronavirus fears, a Cambodian port official said.
Official Lou Kimchhun said the ship was headed for Anchorage, Alaska.
Cruise line Holland America said in a statement on Friday that it was cancelling Westerdam's four Asia cruises for March and April due to the "uncertainty of ports accepting cruise ships" in the region.
All former Westerdam passengers and crew who were tested for Covid-19 have been found to not have the viral infection, according to Holland America and the Cambodian Health Ministry.
Malaysia said last week that one US cruise passenger had tested positive, but the woman was cleared of the virus this week.
Over 76,000 confirmed infections have been reported on mainland China with over 2,300 deaths.
While international Covid-19 cases have remained relatively few and have mostly been traced back to China, the UN health agency is worried about independent outbreak clusters appearing abroad. - Xinhua/Asian News Network
Official Lou Kimchhun said the ship was headed for Anchorage, Alaska.
Cruise line Holland America said in a statement on Friday that it was cancelling Westerdam's four Asia cruises for March and April due to the "uncertainty of ports accepting cruise ships" in the region.
All former Westerdam passengers and crew who were tested for Covid-19 have been found to not have the viral infection, according to Holland America and the Cambodian Health Ministry.
Malaysia said last week that one US cruise passenger had tested positive, but the woman was cleared of the virus this week.
Over 76,000 confirmed infections have been reported on mainland China with over 2,300 deaths.
While international Covid-19 cases have remained relatively few and have mostly been traced back to China, the UN health agency is worried about independent outbreak clusters appearing abroad. - Xinhua/Asian News Network
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