First Group Of Russian Evacuees From US Cruise Ship Departing From Cambodia - Embassy

Umer Jamshaid Published February 15, 2020 | 10:40 AM

BANGKOK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th February, 2020) Seven Russian passengers of the Westerdam cruise ship, which has docked in Cambodia, have left the ship and are scheduled to fly to Russia via Thailand's Bangkok on Saturday, the Russian Embassy in Cambodia told Sputnik.

The cruise ship, operated by the US Holland America Line, had been out at sea for nearly two weeks after it was barred from pulling into ports in Taiwan, Japan, Guam, Thailand the Philippines over fears people on the ship could have the novel coronavirus.

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump in a statement thanked Cambodia for allowing a US cruise ship to dock into its port after it was rejected by several other countries.

The ship, which has 2,257 passengers and crew onboard, has no cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus.

The new strain of coronavirus - COVID-19 - was first detected in Wuhan, located in the province of Hubei, in December and has since spread to more than 25 countries. In mainland China, the virus has already resulted in 1,523 fatalities, with 66,492 people having been infected. Over 1,700 doctors have been infected with COVID-19, six of them have died.