17 Tamil Nadu tourists stuck on ship in Egypt, 45 on-board test positive for Coronavirus

A total of 17 Indian passengers, hailing from Tamil Nadu, have been stranded on a cruise ship docked at the Nile near Luxor city in Egypt since Thursday after 12 of its crew members and 33 passengers tested positive for COVID-19.

One passenger from Chennai was taken to a hospital in Alexandria on Saturday after he developed symptoms of Coronavirus. The crew has announced that all passengers on the ship will only be released after a 14-day-quarantine.

The cruise ship named ‘A Sara’ has 171 passengers on board. All the passengers were screened after the ship docked in Luxor. Those who tested positive for COVID-19 were moved to a hospital.

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Tourists were expected to return on March 7

The passengers were supposed to return to the country on March 7. The passengers have been instructed to wear masks and wash their hands properly.

The passengers had embarked on the cruise through Salem based tour operator ‘Grand Royal Tours’ that offered a package including the Nile cruise. Even though the tour operators had assured that there was no fear of COVID-19, currently, like the passengers, the crew is also in a state of panic.

One of the passengers approached the Indian Embassy in Egypt, to get help in rescuing all 18 Indian passengers who were quarantined in the cruise ship.

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India's Coronavirus count rises to 43

Meanwhile, on Monday, the government revealed that positive cases of the novel Coronavirus in India had soared up to 43 after new cases were reported from across the country including a three-year-old child. Four new cases emerged from Kerala, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu, which reported one positive case each raising the number to 43.

The 43 that have been tested for the novel Coronavirus have been found positive from the 3,003 samples that were tested in the country. Out of these 40 are active cases, the initial three which were reported from Kerala have been treated and discharged. The health ministry has advised people against mass gatherings to avoid the spread of Coronavirus in the country.

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(with inputs from agencies)