VISAKHAPATNAM: A cargo vessel from China with 22 crew members on board was anchored off the coast of Visakhapatnam for mandatory screening tests to be conducted by the health officials.
The cargo vessel, Fortune Hero, was scheduled to arrive at the Visakhapatnam Port on Thursday evening but the port authorities stopped the vessel before it reached the port. It was made to anchor away from the port and the health officials are conducting screening tests since morning.
Of the 22 crew members, 17 are from China while five are from Myanmar. Only after the health officials submit a report ruling out possibilities of coronavirus affected people on the ship, the vessel will be allowed to anchor at the port, officials said.
Meanwhile, the reports of all the five persons who are in the isolation ward in the chest hospital in Visakhapatnam tested negative for COVID-19. Similarly, the samples of other suspected coronavirus cases in East Godavari (two), one in Vijayawada and one in Kakinada too tested negative.
The reports of the samples of three from Srikakulam and one from Ongole are yet to arrive.