Cruise Ship Turned Away by Four Governments Over Coronavirus Fears to Dock in Cambodia
LAND HO!
A cruise ship that was denied entry by four governments over coronavirus fears announced Wednesday that it would finally be disembarking passengers in Cambodia, the Associated Press reports. The MS Westerdam was turned away from the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, and Thailand due to fears that some of the over 2,200 passengers and crew could be infected with coronavirus. A cruise ship currently docked in Japan has at least 174 confirmed cases on-board. Operator Holland America Line reportedly assured Thailand that no one on the ship had the virus, but the country still blocked them from docking Tuesday.
U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, W. Patrick Murphy, tweeted on Wednesday that the ship would be docking in a Sihanoukville port, and said the embassy team would be working to get Americans home safe and help other individuals get in touch with other foreign embassies. Holland America Line said the ship would arrive on Thursday and passengers would disembark over several days to catch charter flights to Phnom Penh, then to catch flights back to their respective homes. The cruise began last month in Singapore.