Hebrides cruise ships could be turned away if passengers ill
CRUISE ships heading for the Hebrides face being turned away from Tobermory if they report passengers with symptoms of Covid-19.
The proposal to divert liners to other ports is one of many being examined as islanders draw up a plan to try and stop the coronavirus reaching Mull,
Councillor Mary Jean Devon called an emergency meeting after locals complained about a lack of information from public bodies about preventative measures.
Ms Devon, an Independent Argyll and Bute councillor, from Tobermory, said: “It seems to be all about containment – instead of being pro-active they are being reactive.”
Now, with the main holiday season imminent and the first of 15 planned cruise ship visits due next month, fears are growing about the virus.
Ms Devon added: “Tobermory used to have a harbour association but now it has a harbour authority, which means it has the jurisdiction to do something. If 12 people are sick they can ask them to put the ship to a bigger port with facilities to deal with the virus.”
Brian Swinbanks, chairman of Tobermory Harbour Authority, said a plan was urgently needed to identify diversion ports with the facilities to deal with ships reporting passengers with the virus.
He confirmed: “We can ask a ship to declare if everybody on board is healthy or not and to declare what proportion are not well.
“We can, as a harbour authority, if they have a high proportion of people on board who are not well, say ‘we don’t want you to come into Tobermory harbour’. This would have to be judged by us and health and other authorities, but there is no reason why a harbour authority isn’t entitled to ask a ship, ‘have you got any declarable diseases?’.
“I am hoping the Scottish Government will come up with a plan to say that Belfast, or Greenock, or whatever port, would be best for a ship to go into, as we have not got the medical facilities here.”
Mr Swinbanks added: “We are using the wrong word – containment – because at the moment they are not containing anything,
“I consider at the moment the Government is doing watchful waiting, it is not doing containment – that is when you say, we are shutting our borders, our airports.”