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The first cruise ship to sail in Greece after the coronavirus shutdown was forced to dock on Tuesday after 12 crew members tested positive for the contagion, local officials said.
The Maltese-flagged Mein Schiff 6 set sail from Heraklion in Crete on Sunday evening, but its journey was halted after “unclear positive tests for COVID-19” from 12 of the 666 crew on board, according to Agence France-Presse. .
However, the positive cases were later “identified as negative” in two rounds of follow-up testing after local health authorities boarded the docked cruise ship, TUI Cruises said.
The 12 crew members and 24 other people who had been in contact with them remained in isolation pending test results, the cruise ship said, and the 922 passengers were also forced to remain on the ship, which docked in Piraeus.
As of Tuesday morning, the apparently positive members had undergone two tests: first a PCR test administered by the cruise line and then a rapid antigen test by Greek authorities, according to USA Today. The latter indicated that the first test may have been a false positive.
Greek officials also administered another PCR test and results are expected Tuesday evening, cruise line spokesman Godja Sönnichsen told USA Today.
“Thanks to the extensive hygiene measures and clearance rules on board, there is no reason for guests and crew to worry,” Sönnichsen said.
If the Greek authorities give the go-ahead, the ship will continue its planned journey, which includes a trip to the western island of Corfu.
The cruise industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, with some of the first large clusters of COVID-19 aboard cruise ships.
Mein Schiff 6 was the first to return to Greek waters after blockade measures imposed in March, AFP said.
With pole cables
