The Kaohsiung Department of Health yesterday called on taxi drivers who picked up passengers from the Westerdam cruise ship at Kaohsiung Harbor on Feb. 4 to report to the department after the first confirmed case of COVID-19 among the passengers who disembarked in Cambodia on Friday was reported on Saturday.
The Westerdam, operated by Holland America Line, was carrying 1,455 passengers and 802 crew when it departed from Hong Kong on Feb. 1 and was scheduled to arrive in Yokohama, Japan, on Saturday after a 14-day cruise.
However, it spent two weeks at sea after it was later turned away by five ports in Japan, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines and Thailand, over fear that there might be cases of COVID-19 among those onboard.
Photo: Reuters
On Feb. 4, the ship made a one-day stop at Kaohsiung Harbor, where passengers took taxis to visit sightseeing spots in the city.
The Westerdam was allowed to dock at a port in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on Friday, with passengers allowed to disembark.
However, an 83-year-old American woman who flew to Malaysia on Friday tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the first confirmed case among those from the ship.
Department specialist Pan Chao-ying (潘炤穎) said that taxi drivers who took passengers from the Westerdam should report to the city’s health department or the Kaohsiung Transportation Bureau to complete a disease investigation survey.
The bureau is also looking for taxi drivers who took such fares, Pan said.
The Centers for Disease Control sent quarantine officers to board the ship when it docked in Kaohsiung and prevented 38 passengers with a fever from disembarking, he said.
Detailed information, such as whether the woman reported to have the disease had left the ship in Kaohsiung on Feb. 4, as well as where passengers were taken in the city, would have to be provided by Malaysian authorities upon request from the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), he said.
While the department would cooperate with the CECC and disinfect high-risk infection areas, it hopes the taxi drivers would come forward and monitor their own health conditions for suspected symptoms, Pan said.
In other developments, the Ministry on Education on Saturday said it has begun delivering thermometer guns, rubbing alcohol and masks to schools nationwide.
It has prepared 25,000 thermometers, 84,000 liters of alcohol and 6.45 million masks for schools, kindergartens, cram schools, after-school programs and other facilities, the ministry said.
The masks are to be used in cases of emergency, or when students or teachers exhibit symptoms such as a fever or cough unexpectedly while on campus, it said.
The supplies are expected to arrive before classes resume on Tuesday next week, it said.
Additional reporting by Sherry Hsiao and CNA
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