2,000 People Are Stranded on a U.S. Cruise Ship After 4 Countries Reject Entry Over Coronavirus Fears

Roughly 2,000 passengers and crew aboard the Holland America Line Westerdam are stranded on the open seas. Fears of the novel coronavirus (now officially known as COVID-19) has prompted four different nations and the U.S. territory of Guam to deny them entry despite no one on board being diagnosed with the illness that has caused global panic. After being denied entry into Japan, Guam, the Philippines and Taiwan, unnerved vacationers were initially relieved when the cruise ship’s captain announced on Monday that they’d finally be disembarking in Bangkok, Thailand, on Feb. 13. But the ship is back in limbo after Thailand Public Health Minister Anutin Charnverakul shared on Facebook Monday afternoon that it would not be allowed to dock after all. Still waiting for @HALcruises to verify we are not disembarking Thursday. Everyone onboard is passing around articles that says we aren't. But no @HALcruises We have less than an hour to cancel our third rearranged flight. Crickets from our ship…really sad #sos #westerdam — AJ (@Mountain_AJ) February 11, 2020 The cruise launched Jan. 16 from Singapore, according to the Associated Press, and was originally planned to end on Feb. 15 in Yokohama, Japan, according to a statement by the cruise line. But Yokohama is where another cruise ship has quarantined roughly 3,700 passengers and crew, and at least 61 have been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to the AP. Globally, more than 43,000 people have been inf...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 onetime Source Type: news