66 of 2,000 passengers on board Cordelia cruise ship found positive for Covid-19

|HT|

As many as 66 of 2,000-odd passengers on board the Cordelia cruise ship that left for Mumbai and berthed in Goa were found positive for Covid-19, said health minister Vishwajit Rane on Monday. Samples of all the passengers were tested after a crew member contracted the viral disease. The ship was initially made to wait at anchorage on Sunday for a few hours as the authorities debated the steps to be followed before asking the ship operators to get all the 2,000 passengers tested.

“Out of 2000 samples tested from Cordelia cruise ship, 66 passengers tested positive for #COVID19 Respective collectors & MPT (Mormugao Port Trust) staff have been informed. The government will take appropriate measures to discuss disembarking of passengers,” Rane said.

The passengers who were found negative will now have to await further instructions before being allowed to disembark.

The state recorded four more cases of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the virus with the National Institute of Virology, Pune, confirming the same during the day. Among the four, one has no prior travel history, leaving officials flummoxed and leading to the belief that the variant has already begun spreading in the state.

“One patient is from within the state with no travel history, indicating indigenous spread to be further examined by experts,” Rane said, adding he would discuss the matter with chief minister Pramod Sawant regarding the steps ahead.

The Goa administration is likely to impose a night curfew between 11pm and 6am, besides cancelling classes for students of classes VIII to XII. The classes will be taken back online.

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