Health Ministry Declares 781 Westerdam Passengers Healthy

Ministry of Health declares 781 passengers from the Westerdam are not infected with the coronavirus
  • Phoung Vantha
  • February 19, 2020 6:28 AM

Spokesman for the Ministry of Health confirms 781 blood tests came back negative as remaining 233 passengers are transferred from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh.



PHNOM PENH--The Cambodian Ministry of Health on Wednesday said that 781 Westerdam travelers, who are in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, have tested negative for the novel coronavirus. As such, the remaining 233 passengers aboard the cruise ship will be transported to Phnom Penh today, although it is not yet known when they will be able to return to their home countries. 



The health ministry announced the results at 8a.m. this morning suggesting that the health of 781 passengers shows no sign of being infected, arguing that it has now been 19 days since the cruise ship’s departure from Hong Kong on Feb. 1. 



Ly Sovann, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said that 781 travelers had their blood tested for the virus by Institut Pasteur du Cambodge. 



The Pasteur Institut, a Phnom Penh-based research facility operating under the patronage of the health ministry, is thought to be processing COVID-19 tests in Cambodia, but has so far declined to respond to media enquiries. This has prompted many to suggest researchers have been forbidden from discussing the outbreak with the press. 



The Ministry of Health continues to test remaining passengers and is working closely with the World Health Organization, the US Center for Disease Control, Insititut Pasteur du Cambodge, and embassy representatives, Sovann added. 



He declined to comment on Malaysia's treatment of a Westerdam passenger who tested positive twice once arriving in Kuala Lumpur after been allowed to leave Cambodia. 



“That case should quote Prime Minister Hun Sen, as that point must have a response from leadership," he said. 



On Feb. 18, Hun Sen said he still has doubts about Malaysia’s testing of a passenger from the MS Westerdam cruise ship and doesn’t believe she is infected with COVID-19. This is despite Malaysia having conducted two tests on the 83-year-old American woman, with both results testing positive.



Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line and W. Patrick Murphy, U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, met with Hun Sen on Tuesday where both reportedly expressed their gratitude to the Cambodian government for its humanitarian response to the Westerdam cruise ship’s passengers and crew. 



“Today, I met Prime Minister Hun Sen to continue coordination helping #Westerdam passengers journey home. Our longstanding cooperation on public health is crucial as we face the COVID19 global challenge,” tweeted Ambassador Murphy on Feb. 18. 



Kheang Phearum, spokesman of Sihanoukville, said on Wednesday morning that 233 passengers and 747 crews are remaining on Westerdam in Sihanoukville, but today’s events will see the remaining passengers moved to the capital to await further instruction. 



Having docked in Sihanoukville port on Feb. 13, the MS Westerdam has become a point of contention after Cambodian officials allowed the majority of the ship’s 1,455 guests and 802 crew members to disembark without proper testing. 

 


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