OSLO, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A second Norwegian cruise ship is suspected to be contaminated with COVID-19, according to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten on Wednesday.
As the cruise ship "Sea Dream 1" docked at the Norwegian coastal town of Bodo, some 1,193 km north of Oslo, during the early hours of Wednesday morning, passengers on board were informed that because a previous Danish guest had tested positive for the virus on Aug. 2, they were all being placed in quarantined and scheduled for testing later in the day.
"We are not aware of any other guests or crew who are infected or have any symptoms, but we are taking all necessary precautions," said the SeaDream shipping company in a press release Wednesday.
It noted that "all guests and crew were informed, as well as the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) and the Norwegian Directorate of Health as soon as we received the information."
The latest incident comes in the wake of another Norwegian cruise ship, the MS Roald Amundsen which was placed into quarantine last Friday, two days after four crew members tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Five passengers and 36 crew members have since tested positive for COVID -19 from the cruise ship.
As a consequence of the first outbreak, Norwegian authorities tightened their rules for ship traffic.
Passengers on cruise ships are now not allowed to land in Norway, and all ships with more than 100 people on board are forbidden to sail for the next 14 days.
"Cruises that are approved and currently progressing with their journey are permitted to fulfill their obligation in accordance with the rules that applied at the start, but there will be a ban on going ashore," said Norwegian Minister of Health and Care Services, Bent Hoie, during a press conference on Monday.
"However, the restrictions do not apply to ferries because they contribute to the transport of goods and services and are subject to different rules, so we believe that there are other considerations that apply here," said Hoie.
In addition, an investigation into possible criminal acts has begun, according to police attorney Thomas Rye-Holmboe, based on the flurry of press reports that Hurtigruten, the owners of the MS Roald Amundsen failed to immediately notify passengers of an outbreak of COVID-19 on their cruise ship. Enditem
