Over 1,000 screened on board MV Genting Dream, none positive with Covid-19

Health screenings of 678 passengers and 445 crew members of the MV Genting Dream cruise ship, currently docked at the Boustead Cruise Centre (BCC), Port Klang, found none of them has shown the Covid-19 symptoms.

Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the number was recorded as of 10 pm today and a team from the Ministry of Health (MoH) was still conducting health screenings for all other passengers and crew members after its arrival at around noon.

“Any symptomatic passengers will be placed under surveillance on board or at the BCC quarantine centre for further examination,” he said after launching the Universiti Malaya Mental Health Initiative in Kuala Lumpur.

He also stressed that the cruise ship never stopped or passed through China.

The cruise ship, ferrying 957 passengers and 1,701 crew members, is scheduled to return to Singapore at 11pm tonight.

In another development, he said two Malaysians, a married couple on board of the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan who tested positive for Covid-19, were in stable condition and being treated at the Fujita Hospital in Nagoya.

The husband, aged 71 and his wife, 66, was confirmed positive on Feb 16.

He said another Malaysian passenger, a 61-year-old woman, had been tested negative for COVID-19 and was allowed to return to Malaysia by the Japanese health authority upon completion of the 14-day quarantine period.

“Meanwhile, another Malaysian crew member on the cruise ship is currently being monitored by the Japanese health authority,” he said.

The cruise ship has undergone a quarantine since Feb 4 at one of the seaports in Japan following the confirmation of COVID-19 infections amongst its passengers.

According to international media reports, as of Thursday, a total of 3,700 quarantined passengers on board of the ship, and of the total, 620 people were tested positive for COVID-19 with two deaths among those infected. - Bernama