Singapore’s ‘Cruise to Nowhere’ cuts short its trip after passenger tests COVID positive

Singapore’s Cruise to Nowhere aka the Quantum of the Seas ship had to cut short its journey, which started its journey a few days back with much fanfare, when an elderly passenger onboard tested positive for Coronavirus.

According to the reports published by a news website, all activities came to a halt as soon as the news broke, and passengers were told to stay in their cabins. The ship management put into immediate effect its emergency response plans such as isolation of close contacts, contact tracing and sanitisation of the ship.
Reportedly, the vessel returned to Singapore on Wednesday morning a day before its scheduled date of return. Fortunately, the guests who have had close contact with the affected passenger as well as the crew members have tested negative for the virus. Once a review of contact tracing is done, all the guests will be permitted to leave the ship. Meanwhile, passengers have been given free phone service to make amends in their travel plans.
Singapore recently began a “safe cruising" pilot program, allowing cruise ships to make round trips to Singapore with no port of call in between. Strict safety measures were imposed, including reducing capacity by half, and pre-boarding testing for passengers. Royal Caribbean is one of two operators licensed to run such trips.
The patient who tested positive for the virus onboard Quantum of the Seas is, reportedly, a 83-year-old Singaporean. The passenger had tested negative for the virus before boarding the ship; it was only when he reported diarrhoea that he was found to be COVID positive. The ship had 1680 guests and 1148 crew members on board.