Malaysia Bars Westerdam Cruise Passengers From Entry
Malaysia Bars Westerdam Passengers, Cancels Special U.S. Flights
(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia said it won’t allow any more passengers who had traveled on the Westerdam luxury cruise ship to enter, after an American woman who flew into the country was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
The 83-year-old woman and her husband were among 145 cruise passengers who flew from Cambodia on Feb. 14 on a Malaysia Airlines flight chartered by Holland America Line, which operates the ship. Malaysia canceled three other special flights that were supposed to bring more Westerdam passengers into Kuala Lumpur, Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said Sunday.
Cambodia allowed the liner to dock in the port city of Sihanoukville on Friday after being barred by countries including Japan and Thailand over fears it harbored the coronavirus. More than 2,200 passengers and crew disembarked, as Cambodia carried out health screenings on the passengers and cleared them to go back to their respective countries.
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The American woman was found with symptoms when she landed in Kuala Lumpur. She was tested twice and results showed positive for coronavirus both times, Wan Azizah said. Her 85-year-old husband has tested negative.
Malaysia cleared 137 Westerdam passengers to leave the country using other commercial flights, while six Dutch and American citizens are awaiting their test results, the health ministry said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yudith Ho in Kuala Lumpur at yho35@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Jake Lloyd-Smith
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