The cruise ship with the Americans is not allowed in any port because of the coronavirus, although there are no patients on board

A Pacific cruise that a Michigan family took to celebrate graduating from college and defeating illness turned out to be more stressful than expected, as the ship has been unable to find a port that will accept it for several days - all due to the coronavirus outbreak in the world, writes USA Today. Moreover, there are no patients and quarantine on board.

Фото: Depositphotos

“We're just floating in the middle of the ocean,” said Steve Muth of Onsted, Michigan, who boarded Holland America's MS Westerdam on Feb. 1 with his wife Jane, daughter Kate and her boyfriend Eric. “We have been refused at every port, in every country, since leaving the port of Hong Kong.”

There are no known cases of coronavirus on board, despite reports to the contrary, the cruise line said, and Westerdam is not in quarantine.

Precautions are triggered by the fears of the states of the world that a new strain of coronavirus, which first appeared in China in December, infected 10 people worldwide and killed 40 (according to WHO data as of February 554), and it will become a pandemic if it is not stopped.

“I think we're heading to Vietnam, maybe Malaysia, Cambodia, I'm not sure - they haven't told us yet,” Steve Muth said in an interview. “We have no known cases on board, but there is a big fear that someone could have the virus and bring it to their country.”

Holland America said it plans to disembark people in the near future.

“We can confirm that we have received preliminary approval for the port of disembarkation next week,” cruise ship officials confirmed on Feb. 8. The statement was made by Erik Elvejord, director of public relations, although he did not reveal the location of the vessel.

“However, before we receive final confirmation, we must do a full passport check of all guests and crew members to ensure that no one has traveled within mainland China in the past 14 days,” the statement said. “We know that our guests, like us, are eager to receive confirmation at the port.”

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Earlier during the cruise, the ship was forced to miss a port call in Manila after the Philippines did not allow foreigners to land. Subsequently, entry into the ports of Japan and Guam was denied.

Unlike Diamond Princess, the Princess Cruises cruise ship that stays off the coast of Japan after dozens of passengers on board tested positive for coronavirus, Westerdam is not quarantined, according to Mut and Holland America itself.

The Diamond Princess, aboard which 1045 crew members and 2666 guests, sent passengers to quarantine in their cabins until February 19, after the traveler who left the ship on January 25 gave a positive result for coronavirus.

Representatives of Holland America, however, said their passengers and crew were safe and able to move freely around the ship.

“We have no reason to believe there are any cases of coronavirus on board, despite media reports,” the cruise line said. “The ship has enough fuel and food to last until the end of the voyage.” We provide free internet and telephone access for guests and crew so they can stay in touch with their loved ones.”

In addition, according to representatives of the cruise line, 1455 guests were given a full refund and a future loan for the cruise. On board are also 802 crew members.

Holland America has canceled the next cruise scheduled for February 15 in Yokohama, Japan.

Mut said the cruise was originally supposed to end in Shanghai, but the destination was changed to Tokyo. However, on Thursday, February 6, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that passengers would not be allowed to go ashore, and the cruise line was looking for an alternative plan.

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Mut, 57, who lives about an hour's drive from Detroit, said his family went aboard the ship after an 18-hour flight to Hong Kong, and the cruise line checked passengers for the risk of coronavirus before boarding.

“Everything seemed normal,” he said. “That all precautions have been taken.”

Muth said his family decided to go on the cruise after suffering serious health problems. He said he broke his leg, had cancer and neck surgery. The trip, he said, was a celebration of life and victory over disease. In addition, he added, his daughter recently graduated from Eastern Michigan University, something the family wanted to celebrate as well.

“We have good food, good entertainment, the company has been outstanding,” Muth said, adding that he had nothing good to say about the cruise line. “It’s a little nerve-wracking when we don’t know if we’ll have to quarantine when we return.” We do not know".

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