COIMBATORE: As many as 18 people, including six women, from Tamil Nadu have been quarantined on a Nile cruise ship near Luxor in Egypt after at least 33 people on board tested positive for novel coronavirus.
Passengers from Tamil Nadu told Express they were in isolation on the ship for at least two days.
According to AFP, the “A Sara” docked in Luxor days after authorities were alerted that a foreign tourist who had previously disembarked had contracted the virus and infected others on board. The boat was carrying 171 people — 101 foreigners and 70 Egyptian crew — Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said Saturday.
While AFP reported that all passengers disembarked on Sunday, Vanitha Rengaraj (60) from Pollachi and Logan (60) from Chennai told Express in a telephonic conversation that they were on the ship.
After some passengers tested positive for novel coronavirus on Friday morning, blood samples were taken from the others on the ship. According to Logan, on Saturday, a man from Chennai in his 50s was shifted to a hospital in Alexandria after he showed symptoms of the disease.
“All the people from Tamil Nadu are safe except for the man who has symptoms. He was seen using the swimming pool. However, officials are taking great care of us by providing us enough facilities including food and Wi-Fi,” Logan said on Sunday evening.
Vegetarian food cooked from outside is being given to passengers by Egypt’s Tourism Department. The Indian Embassy is ensuring the safety of all the Indians on the ship. A doctor has been deputed to keep tabs on the health of the passengers.
Vanitha and husband R Rengaraj (62) said they left India on February 29 and joined the cruise at the beginning of the week.
“We were supposed to check out on Saturday morning. Everything was very normal. We did not wear any masks but officials collected blood samples from us on Friday night, after a few people tested positive,” Vanitha said. She said they had to stay on the ship for a few more days as WHO recommended a quarantine period of two weeks. She claimed to have asked the travel agency if it was safe to travel to Egypt amidst the Coronavirus scare, but was told not to worry. Her daughter, Saranya, had posted about her parents’ predicament on Facebook on Sunday.
Arun Pandiyan, general manager of Grand Royal Tours (Private) Limited which arranged the trip, said the agency was in touch with the Indian Embassy. “Officials are coordinating with us and giving us updates,” Pandiyan said.A top shipping ministry official told Express that the Director-General of Shipping was aware of the situation. “We had notified the Ministry of External Affairs, which is working on bringing back the stranded passengers,” the official said. However, the official refused to share details on the health status of the Indians or where they hailed from.
Quick facts
The group from Tamil Nadu quarantined on ship near Luxor includes 6 women
Among the stranded passengers, a man from Chennai in his 50s reportedly shifted to a hospital in Alexandria
(With inputs from C Shivakumar in Chennai and AFP)