Cruise passenger tests positive for coronavirus after hundreds disembark

A woman from the US has tested positive for coronavirus a day after she was let off a cruise ship barred from multiple countries over fears of the deadly outbreak.

Authorities in Kuala Lumpur confirmed the elderly woman had contracted the virus late on Saturday despite all passengers from the cruise having been given a clean bill of health before the first batch of over 100 passengers began disembarking in Cambodia from Friday.

The vessel was at sea for two weeks and barred from Japan, Guam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand over fears it might be carrying the virus which originated in China and has killed more than 1600 people.

Cambodia – a staunch ally of Beijing – allowed the ship to dock on Thursday in Sihanoukville, administering health tests before passengers disembarked in waves for homeward-bound flights.

But jubilation dimmed late on Saturday, as one of the passengers was stopped by authorities in Malaysia when she was detected with a fever and was later diagnosed with the virus.

Now fears are mounting that more of the 2200 passengers and crew may have been infected.

Cambodia urged Kuala Lumpur on Sunday to "double-check" the diagnosis, but Malaysian deputy prime minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the 83-year-old American woman had already been tested twice.

"Our protocol is actually world-class... it's a positive," she told a press conference.

She said the US embassy had chartered four Malaysian Airlines planes to fly some of the Westerdam cruise’s passengers to Kuala Lumpur, but later a government statement officially corrected her account, saying it was the cruise ship operators who had hired the aircraft.

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After the discovery of the infected woman on the first plane carrying 143 passengers, the other flights were cancelled.

Onboard the Westerdam – where more than 200 passengers remain along with 747 crew members – the mood has turned "sombre", said Lorraine Oliveira, who lives in Britain.

"Guests are very anxious on board since finding out someone tested positive," she told AFP.

"We were (so) close to getting home and now we're back in limbo."

Cambodia's decision to allow the Westerdam to berth was lauded by US President Donald Trump, who called the country "beautiful" on Twitter, while US ambassador Patrick Murphy boarded the ship to greet its American passengers.

It was announced on Sunday all passengers arriving into Sydney on cruise ships will be assessed by health experts for coronavirus to prevent the spread of the disease.

With AFP

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