Coronavirus-hit Cruise Ship Docks in Cuba for Passenger Evacuation, Repatriation

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Cuban government has granted a Norwegian-British cruise ship permission to dock at the port of Havana to evacuate passengers on board following an outbreak of the new coronavirus.

The socialist island state thus complied with a request from the British Government after the ship was banned from docking at nearby ports in the Caribbean. Concurrently, assistance groups of Cuban doctors have arrived in Venezuela to prevent the 2019-nCo virus and the Covid-19 respiratory disease from spreading.

Last Friday, the UK government had asked the Cuban authorities for permission to allow the MS Braemar cruise ship operated by the Fred Olsen Line, a Norwegian company based in London, to dock in a Cuban port. The ship is carrying a small number of passengers who are allegedly infected with the new coronavirus. The tourists are to be flown home from Cuba.

Given the urgency of the situation and the life-threatening situation for the sick passengers, the Cuban government decided to allow the ship to dock. This was declared by the Cuban Foreign Ministry on Monday. The hygiene measures defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Cuban Ministry of Health (MINSAP) will be strictly observed when the passengers and crew are met, it stated.

The Cuban and British authorities are jointly organizing the return trip of the cruise ship’s passengers from Cuban territory to their homes. British airlines will provide flights to this end.

With its humanitarian aid, Cuba is sending a clear signal of international solidarity. The Foreign Ministry said: “These are times of solidarity, of understanding health as a human right and of strengthening international cooperation to meet our common challenges – values inherent in the humanitarian practice of the revolution and of our people”.

On Thursday, the cruise ship had been denied permission to dock in Barbados due to the virus infections; on Friday the Bahamas also refused permission.

The MS Braemar has more than 1,000 people on board. The 2019-nCo virus has been detected in at least five of them. Some 21 crew members and 22 passengers are now in isolation for showing symptoms suggesting Covid-19 infection.

The plan to allow the ship to return to the UK was rejected due to the distance and the resulting health concerns.

Meanwhile, a group of Cuban doctors from the International Henry Reeves Brigade has arrived in Venezuela to help safeguard Cuban citizens and assist the health authorities of the South American country. The doctors of the Henry Reeves Brigade specialize in post-disaster and epidemic missions.

The group includes microbiologists, biologists, infectiologists, and intensive care physicians as well as the founding director of the Institute of Genetic Engineering and Cuban developers of an interferon compound used to fight the pandemic.

Before heading off to Venezuela, Dr. José Ernesto Betancourt Lavastida, head of the Cuban group, told the daily newspaper Granma that the coronavirus is a difficult disease to manage and a global issue due to its magnitude.

“Many governments are showing proper attention, like our government, because for them human health is a top priority, but others have reacted late, which has contributed to the rapid spread of the epidemic,” Betancourt added.

Venezuela’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Latin America, Rander Peña, described the assistance provided by Cuban specialists at Caracas’ Maiquetía International Airport as a sign of the “alliance between Cuba and Venezuela”.

“It is the result of the swift action of President Maduro and the fraternity of the Cuban people and government, as well as the health agreement between Cuba and Venezuela, signed by two great leaders: Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez,” Peña said.