2 Chinese ships in Manila cleared of nCoV

FILE: CLEARED. The World Dream cruise ship docked at Pier 15, South Harbor in Port Area, Manila on Tuesday (January 28). The Philippine Coast Guard said its port state control officers and the Bureau of Quarantine cleared the cruise ship and another ship of the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV). (Photo courtesy of PCG via PNA)

MANILA – Two Chinese ships berthed at Manila were cleared of the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) on Tuesday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported.

In a message sent to reporters, PCG communications officer Joy Dianne Gumatay said the World Dream cruise ship from Hong Kong and M/V Ligulao from Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China–both berthed at Pier 15, South Harbor in Port Area, Manila–were both cleared by the Bureau of Quarantine and PCG port state control officers.

“Upon coordinating with the PCG port state control officers at Pier 15, they confirmed that both vessels were cleared and declared safe by the Bureau of Quarantine during mandatory inspections,” Gumatay said.

M/V Ligulao, she said, arrived on Monday and originated from a port almost 900 kilometers away from Wuhan, China—the epicenter of the nCoV epidemic—and housed 20 crew members.

She said all crew members of the vessel were not granted a “shore pass” and did not set foot outside of the ship.

She added that the vessel will return to China in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the World Dream cruise ship arrived from Hong Kong Tuesday morning and housed 778 passengers that have all been cleared of nCoV.

Gumatay said the cruise ship was scheduled to leave for Subic at 9 p.m. and will arrive at about 10 a.m. the next day.

Meanwhile, PCG spokesperson, Capt. Armando Balilo said the World Dream cruise ship came directly from Hong Kong and did not visit any other points in China prior to their arrival, reducing the expected 4,000 passengers of the luxury vessel to 778.

“Dapat 4,000 yung expected na passengers. Pero hindi na dumaan sa mga ports ng China at Hongkong na lang kaya 700 mahigit na lang (Expected passengers were 4,000. But they did not go through the ports in China, only in Hong Kong. That’s why they were only 700),” Balilo said in a message sent to reporters.

Earlier, the death toll in China caused by nCoV has reached 106, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua.

It added that the number of confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the virus had climbed to 4,515 and was reported in 30 provincial-level regions on Monday.