The Italian cruise ship Costa Fortuna is scheduled to dock in Singapore on Tuesday (10 March), after it was turned away by Malaysia and Thailand amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore released a statement earlier today (9 March), stating that the vessel which carried about 1,358 passengers will make a scheduled call on Tuesday.
“All of its passengers had embarked earlier from Singapore, and completed pre-embarkation checks based on prevailing policies for travel history and temperature screening as required by the cruise line and the terminal operator prior to boarding,” it said.
MPA said the ship last departed Singapore on 3 March and has declared on its Maritime Declaration of Health that none of its passengers on board are febrile or showed any signs of respiratory illness.
“The doctor on board the cruise ship will check on passengers and crew in order to ensure that they are healthy prior to disembarkation,” MPA noted.
MPA further explained that all passengers entering the country are required to undergo temperature screening as a precautionary measure, and those who exhibit fever and/or other symptoms of respiratory illness but do not meet the Ministry of Health’s clinical case definition may be required to undergo a COVID-19 swab test.
“Passengers who are identified for COVID-19 swab testing but refuse to do so will not be allowed entry into Singapore,” MPA stated.
It also stated that all cruise terminals in Singapore will remain open to scheduled cruise calls from outside of the country, while unscheduled calls are not allowed to enter since 24 February.
