Several Passengers Of Finnish Cruise Ship Tested Positive For COVID-19 After Estonia Trip

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th July, 2020) Several passengers who traveled from Finland to Estonia on a cruise ship tested positive for COVID-19 and other people who were on board of the vessel may have been exposed to the disease, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare said in a statement on Monday.

The ship headed to Tallinn from Helsinki on June 30, and returned to the point of departure on July 1.

"The health authorities know about several cases where a person has traveled on a cruise ship and afterwards been diagnosed with the coronavirus infection. In general, these persons have avoided moving around on the ship and big crowds, so they have had few close contacts, or the ones exposed have been possible to recognize, contact and put in quarantine. In these situations, there is a small risk of infection for those who have not been in close contact.

However, there was a person with mild symptoms on Silja Europa's cruise to Tallinn between 30 June and 1 July, who spent longer periods of time in the public spaces of the ship," the statement read.

According to Helsinki's Chief Medical Officer Timo Lukkarinen, two families, which contacted with the infected person, have been identified so far and immediately placed under quarantine.

"We have identified two families that have been exposed and contacted. The infected person moved around so extensively on the vessel that we have not been able to identify all of their contacts," Lukkarinen said, as quoted by the Yle news outlet.

Lukkarinen expressed hope that other passengers would seek medical assistance in case they developed COVID-19 symptoms.