The Greg Mortimer, a cruise liner that is operated by Australia's Aurora Expeditions, is full of Australian and New Zeland passengers. They will be evacuated from a stricken Antarctic cruise ship on April 9 after it was reported that almost 60% of those on board tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Greg Mortimer departed on March 15 on a voyage to Antarctica and South Georgia. However, since the beginning of April, the ship has been stuck off the coast of Uruguay, after the authorities refused to allow passengers to disembark because of the risk of coronavirus.
Coronavirus patients on Antartic cruise
There are 217 people on board and 128 passengers and crew have now tested positive for the virus. Six passengers who need specialized care have been transferred to medical facilities in Montevideo. A video posted online by the Uruguayan navy showed the passengers being transferred from ship to ship wearing full protective gear.
The passengers from America and Europe who have tested positive for coronavirus will have to remain on board until they have a negative test result. Once they test negative of the virus, they may be able to depart through Brazil, according to Aurora Expeditions. All of the passengers will be retested every two or three days.
Aurora said in a statement that the ship's doctor had developed a fever and that they are organizing a back-up volunteer medic. The cruise operator added that they had formally escalated their request to the Uruguayan authorities to allow the ship to dock and passengers to disembark. Unfortunately, the Uruguayan authorities denied their request.
On April 7, the Uruguayan government stated that it had authorized a medical flight evacuation for Australian and New Zealand passengers only. The said passengers will fly to Melbourne on April 9 on a place chartered by Aurora Expeditions. The passengers will then undergo a mandated 14-day quarantine before they can proceed to their final destinations.
Aurora Expeditions said in a statement that they have been working on charters and flights for all passengers on board, as they aim to disembark all of the passengers as soon as possible. Their preferred plan was to disembark all passengers simultaneously, but the situation and the difficulty in securing flights meant that the Australian and New Zealand passengers will leave the vessel before the European and North American passengers.
The preparation
Aurora Expeditions stated that the chartered Airbus A340 will be fitted with medical and quarantine facilities in order to make sure that the health and safety of the passengers are prioritized. The company estimated that each passenger will cost $9.3000 and the company said it was in discussions with the Australian government for support with the cost since they know it is not viable for a lot of people.
UK's ambassador to Uruguay Ian Duddy said on Twitter "We remain in close contact with the Uruguayan government, the cruise operator (and) UK passengers onboard the Greg Mortimer. Several passengers have tested positive for COVID-19. We continue to explore ways for passengers to disembark while respecting all health protocols."
The Uruguayan government did not release a statement on whether the passengers would be able to disembark this week.
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