Coronavirus crisis: Crew, passengers of Chinese ships barred from Mumbai Port

Taking serious precautionary measures against Coronavirus, Mumbai Port Trust on Friday restricted the entry of crew and passengers of ships coming from China or certain other Southeast Asian Countries.

"The government of India has taken it very seriously. If any ship with Chinese crew members or passengers arrives here, then our public health officer goes to the ship and conducts the health check-ups of all members on board. We have stopped their excursion, they are not allowed to enter into the city," Sanjay Bhatia, Chairman of Mumbai Port Trust told news agency ANI.

He added that a list of all on-board passengers is taken from the officials on the ship. "It is then checked for the passengers coming from Coronavirus-hit China or those who belong to the country. Following that, the health officer on the port conducts a thermal screening. Screeing is also done at the time of anchorage in the deep sea," he said.

"If there is an emergency, we have made arrangements to take people to the hospital in a special ambulance. However, no patient with such a case has arrived at the Mumbai port yet," he said.

READ | Karnataka Issues Guidelines To Deal With Coronavirus Threat Amid Global Outbreak

Government issues operating procedure guidelines

The standard operating procedure guidelines issued by the government at the Mumbai Port include:

• For crew members who have visited China in the last one month, no shore excursions will be allowed
• For crew members showing symptoms of Coronavirus, no excursion to be allowed and if required, will be taken to Kasturba Gandhi Hospital on PHO's advice
• For all vessels coming from China, with Chinese crew, no shore permit shall be issued to the crew
• The non-Chinese crew will be screened for symptoms and shore permit will be issued to those who don't show any symptoms of Coronavirus

READ | Over 2,800 Under Observation In Kerala For Coronavirus

Global Tourism Drops Amid Coronavirus

Amid coronavirus outbreak, China has reportedly thrown the travel industry into chaos, threatening billions of dollars in losses while keeping millions of travelers at home. As per reports, the outbreak has already claimed 636 lives. The outbreak took started in Wuhan earlies this year and many countries have started evacuating their citizens and decided to restrict the entry of foreigners returning from China.  

According to international media reports, 30 airlines have suspended services in China and nearly 25,000 flights were also canceled earlier this week. Reportedly, hotel rooms in China are largely empty and with many tourists canceling travel to Asia while many are taking a wait-and-see approach. Asia, which attracts 75% of Lunar New Year travelers, has also seen a decline even though the Chinese New Year is one of China's major travel periods. 

READ | China Foreign Ministry: 19 Foreign Nationals Contracting Coronavirus

READ | 'Do Not Overreact' Says China Amid Suspension Of International Flights Over Coronavirus

(With inputs from ANI)

(Image: PTI)