[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – Passengers aboard the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship reacted calmly to the news that a case of Covid-19 had been detected among guests on the third day of their three-night voyage.
Those with whom The Straits Times spoke said they were aware of the risks when they signed up and were comforted by the ship’s security measures and handling of the situation thus far.
Ms. Janice Leong, who is on board with her three-year-old son, said she was awakened by the captain’s voice crackling over the intercom at 2.45 am on Wednesday (December 9).
“I thought I was dreaming,” Leong, 30, said of the abrupt announcement that the ship would return a day earlier. It is currently docked at the Marina Bay Cruise Center, as contact tracing efforts are ongoing.
The Singapore Tourism Board said the affected passenger is an 83-year-old Singaporean man.
Those determined not to have been a close contact of the confirmed case will be able to disembark Wednesday night. They will be asked to monitor their health for 14 days, after which they will undergo a swab test.
Ms Leong, a freelance writer, said she is not overly concerned because of the strict safe distancing protocol on board that includes, among other things, measures to discourage close contact and mixing between groups of passengers.
A passenger who gave his name only as Mr. Quek said he was “quite alarmed” by the early morning announcement, as it was not immediately clear whether the infection had spread.
However, an update around 8 a.m. confirmed that the patient’s close contacts had tested negative.
“That gave us some assurance that the case had been contained,” said Quek, 42, who is self-employed.
He added that he was surprised a fellow traveler had tested positive, given the mandatory pre-boarding tests and the low number of community cases in Singapore.
The passengers, who have been confined to their rooms since the morning announcement, say they have been well fed and given water, although they are eager to disembark.
Muhammad Rezal Ramli said his family of four received “two rounds of breakfast,” along with several large bottles of water.
“I think eight people can eat the amount of food we have now,” he joked.
Rezal, 40, said he was not surprised by the news of an infection on board, although the early end of the trip was disappointing. The family’s first cruise had been enjoyable so far, he said.
“We always go abroad every school vacation period; traveling is very important to us as a family. So when there was this opportunity to go on a cruise and have the children do some activities that are different from what we have in a stay normal, we think why not. “
Rezal, a student development officer at Singapore Polytechnic, said safe handling and contact tracing measures on board assured him that his family was unlikely to have been infected.
Passengers must check in when they enter different parts of the ship, and some activities require taking temperatures, he said, adding that staff on board also enforced the use of masks and safe distancing between groups.
“Even if we do get the disease, it is not something we can complain about because we are aware of the risks,” Rezal said.
Like other passengers, he said the experience will not deter him from taking future cruises.
“I think it’s definitely your luck … I have friends who had gone on previous cruises with no problems.
However, he noted that the three-day window between testing passengers and boarding may have presented a gap during which the virus could have been detected.
The passengers said they underwent a Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test at the Raffles City Convention Hall last Friday before setting sail on Monday.
Royal Caribbean guidelines state that all passengers must be screened within 48 to 72 hours of boarding, as well as at the end of their cruise.
Ameline Yan, who is on the cruise ship with her husband to celebrate their wedding anniversary, said she had specifically booked a room with a balcony due to the possibility of infection on board.
The plight of the Diamond Princess cruise ship made headlines around the world earlier this year, after passengers were quarantined off the coast of Japan for several weeks, with many complaining of inadequate food and a lack of fresh air.
Eventually, more than 700 passengers and crew members were found to be infected with the coronavirus.
In Singapore, Genting Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International received the green light to offer “cruises to nowhere” from November, with a 50% reduced capacity, as well as strict security measures and infection protocols.
Yan, 29, said she and her husband took extra precautions during the cruise, such as eating out of peak hours and avoiding areas that drew crowds.
Quantum of the Seas had 1,680 guests and 1,148 crew members aboard the ship when the cruise departed.
While passengers have been told that they will likely be able to disembark at night, Yan, who works in real estate, said she is not anxious.
“They are feeding us, giving us water and we are in a room with a balcony, so I think we have quite good ventilation.”
Regarding sailing again in the future, he said: “I feel that it is still safe, because they are risks that are present anywhere, even in shopping malls … I would not stop if the right measures are taken.
“And I would say they were taken very seriously (on this cruise).”
[ad_2]
