British Cruise ship with Sick Travelers from Covid-19 received in Cuba

HAVANA, Mar 16 (PL ) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez confirmed today that this country will receive the British cruise ship MS Braemar, with a small number of travellers diagnosed with Covid-19, following the request of the government of that European nation.

The decision responds to a health emergency in which there could be a risk to the lives of sick people, the head of the diplomacy explained in his official Twitter account.

Together with British authorities, it has been organized that, once the travellers arrive on the island, they proceed to their safe and immediate return to the United Kingdom by air, Rodríguez added.

The foreign minister emphasized that the Cuban authorities will adopt sanitary measures established in the protocols of the World Health Organization and the country’s Ministry of Public Health.

The boat, belonging to the Fred Olsen Cruise Lines company, was traveling through the Caribbean Sea with more than a thousand people on board, five of them confirmed with the new coronavirus, the company said on Sunday.

According to international media, the cruise ship remained stranded after being rejected in several Caribbean ports since late February.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines reported that in addition to the sick, another 20 passengers and the same number of crew, including a doctor, are isolated because of flu symptoms.

MS Braemar carries 682 passengers and 381 crew members who arrived in the Bahamas on Saturday but were denied berthing.

“No Caribbean port wants to accept the ship because the issue of the Covid-19 coronavirus is very sensitive,” the company explained.