Cuban officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Health attend a press conference on the cruise ship MS Braemar and the COVID-19 in Havana, Cuba, March 17, 2020. A cruise ship carrying five British passengers who tested positive for COVID-19 has reached Cuban territorial waters, Jose Antonio Fernandez, deputy head of communications at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Tuesday. The affected passengers are to be flown back to their country on four charter flights operated by British Airlines. Cuba agreed to a request by the British government to allow the cruise ship MS Braemar to dock on the island after it was turned away from Caribbean ports in Barbados and The Bahamas. (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez/Xinhua)
HAVANA, March 17 (Xinhua) -- A cruise ship carrying five British passengers who tested positive for COVID-19 has reached Cuban territorial waters, Jose Antonio Fernandez, deputy head of communications at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Tuesday.
Britain had earlier requested that Cuba allow them to land so they can be flown back to their country.
"Passengers' transfer will take place on Wednesday morning from the Port of Mariel to the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana," he said.
The Mariel port is located 40 km south of the Cuban capital.
The affected passengers are to be flown back to their country on four charter flights operated by British Airlines.
"All measures have been taken to transport the passengers safely. We are living in a time of solidarity," Fernandez added.
Cuba agreed to a request by the British government to allow the cruise ship MS Braemar to dock on the island after it was turned away from Caribbean ports in Barbados and The Bahamas.
Jose Raul de Armas, a senior official at the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, said Cuba has the capacity to ensure the safe and successful transfer of the passengers without posing any risks to the local population.
"The Cuban Ministry of Public Health is ready to undertake a swift and correct evacuation of these passengers," he said.
Three Italian tourists and two Cuban nationals have so far tested positive for COVID-19, according to Cuban health authorities.
