The coronavirus-hit cruise ship previously docked in Australia arrives in Manila. Over 200 Filipino crew members are on board.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) — The coronavirus-hit cruise ship previously docked in Australia anchored in Manila on Thursday.
The Ruby Princess cruise ship, linked to 21 coronavirus deaths and some 600 infections, arrived at the Manila Bay anchorage area at 8 am, the Philippine Coast Guard said. From Sydney Australia, it stopped in the vicinity Mindoro, then traveled to Manila City.
PCG spokesperson Armand Balilo on Thursday said over 200 Filipino crew members are on board the ship. He said they are required to undergo swab testing and are expected to stay in the vessel until they receive their test results in around three days.
Some 360 other Filipino crew members were earlier evacuated, boarding a special chartered Cebu Pacific flight from Sydney back to the Philippines, the Foreign Affairs Department said in April. Other Filipinos remained on board to operate the vessel.
Those who test positive will be brought to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa, Balilo said.
Metro Manila and several provinces in the country are under enhanced community quarantine, restricting people’s movement, but overseas Filipino workers are allowed to return as long as they undergo a 14-day quarantine before going back to their homes.
Nationwide, the number of COVID-19 cases breached the 10,000 mark on Wednesday, with 658 deaths and 1,506 recoveries.
Those who are cleared will be sent home with a medical certificate. They are not required to undergo a facility-based quarantine, but are advised to go through a 14-day quarantine in their own homes as a precautionary measure.
International media earlier reported that the ship sailed out of Australia on April 23. It was quarantined at Port Kembla, south of Sydney, Australia since April 6.
