Loke: No ban on cruise ships yet

The government has yet to restrict international cruise ships from docking at ports in the country as concern grows over the deadly novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

Transport Minister Anthony Loke, however, said measures were in place to contain the spread of the outbreak.

The measures, he said, included health screening such as temperature checks to ensure that tourists coming into the country were free from symptoms related to the virus.

“We have not banned any cruise ships (from docking in the country). We (the Transport and Health Ministries) have implemented measures such as checking the temperature of tourists (to prevent the spread of the virus),” he said here yesterday.

Reuters reported on Feb 6 that the health authority in Taiwan had banned all international cruise ships from docking at the island from Thursday.

The ban was imposed amid increasing threat of the coronavirus outbreak and after 10 more people tested positive for the virus on a quarantined cruise liner in Japan. The report said many tourists aboard the Japanese cruise ship entered Taiwan for a day-trip when the vessel anchored at its northern port of Keelung on Jan 31.

AFP reported that cruise lines worldwide had to deny boarding to passengers and crew who had recently travelled to China

The report quoted the Cruise Lines International Association (Clia) as saying that its members were taking extra precautions to prevent an outbreak of the virus on board cruise ships, where infections can spread rapidly.

According to the report, Clia represents some of the world’s largest and best-known cruise lines, including TUI, Aida, MSC, Costa, Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruises.

When asked if the government would restrict flights from China to Malaysia, Loke said such a decision must be made based on the evidence and recommendations by the Health Ministry.