Cruise Passenger Whose Coronavirus Infection Went Undetected Shows It May Not Be Possible to Stop the Outbreak From Spreading

Just the rumor that there could be coronavirus aboard the Westerdam led five ports to deny the luxury cruise ship entry earlier this month. When Cambodia finally agreed to let the vessel dock at Sihanoukville on Feb. 13, the Holland America cruise line and public health officials took precautions to determine if anyone on board was infected with the deadly disease. The ship had already been at sea for 12 days, toward the end of what experts believe to be the incubation period for the COVID-19 virus, and no one aboard had been to China in the previous two weeks. All passengers and crew had their temperatures taken. Upon disembarkation, passengers were required to fill out a written health questionnaire, according to the cruise line. Still, it seems, at least one infected passenger got off the boat undetected. An 83-year-old American woman made it to Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia before thermal scanners detected a fever. Two subsequent tests by Malaysian health officials confirmed she had the coronavirus. The case shows that screening methods like temperature scanning, which authorities are using in airports around the world to try to catch infected people before they can spread the virus, can’t detect all cases of the disease. COVID-19 has already infected more than 75,000, killed more than 2,100 people, and spread to at least 25 countries. But 98% of cases have been in mainland China, and there have been few outbreaks of widespread person-to-person tra...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 onetime overnight Travel Source Type: news