Health

Michigan Family on Cruise Ship with Coronavirus Concerns

February 10, 2020, 12:43 PM
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Photo: Holland America Line

A Michigan family is among nearly 1,500 vacationers on a cruise ship that has been denied entry to several of its stops due to Coronavirus concerns. The passengers boarded Holland America’s Westerdam Feb. 1 in Hong Kong, but have only made one stop in Taiwan since then, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Steve Muth, who lives in Onsted,  about an hour southwest of Detroit, spoke with the Free Press by phone. He is currently on the ship with his wife, daughter and daughter’s boyfriend.

"We have good meals, good entertainment, the company has been outstanding," Muth said, adding he has no bad things to say about the cruise line. "It's just a bit unnerving not knowing whether we'll have to go through quarantine when we get back. We don't know."

The travelers were screened for coronavirus before entering the ship, according to Muth.

Another cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, is currently quarantined off the coast of Japan through Feb 19, after dozens of passengers tested positive for coronavirus. The passengers are “confined to their cabins,” the Free Press reported. A 72-year-old Sterling Heights woman is among them.

The new coronavirus is an upper respiratory illness that has infected over 30,000 people around the world, and killed over 600, according to the World Health Organization. It was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.


Read more:  Detroit Free Press


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