ATHENS (Reuters) – A cruise ship carrying about 920 passengers and sailing off the Greek island of Milos was likely to dock at Piraeus port later on Monday after 12 of its crew members were found to be positive for the coronavirus an official at Greece’s Civil Protection agency said.
The Mein Shiff 6 cruiser, operated by TUI Cruises, departed from Crete on Sunday evening with all passengers having tested coronavirus-negative before boarding.
But sample tests on 150 crew members out of a total of 666, detected 12 infections.
“They are all asymptomatic. There are PCR test kits on board. The vessel will most likely return to Piraeus port for repeat rapid COVID-19 tests,” an official at the Civil Protection Agency said.
The crew found COVID-19 positive has been already segregated on the ship, the official said.
Greek authorities have tightened restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the greater Athens area, saying the pandemic was showing “steadily rising trends”.
TUI Cruises is a cruise line based in Germany. It was formed in 2007 as a joint venture between German tourism company TUI AG and U.S. cruise line operator Royal Caribbean Cruises.
(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos, editing by Louise Heavens)
