Cruise passengers in Cambodia tested for virus

More than 200 passengers remain onboard the MS Westerdam cruise ship docked in Sihanoukville port, a Cambodian official said on Monday.

New COVID-19 tests have been conducted on the passengers to determine if anyone is infected with the disease, said Preah Sihanouk provincial vice governor Mang Sineth.

His statement came after an American passenger who disembarked in Cambodia then traveled to Malaysia last Friday tested positive for the virus.

Mang Sineth said that two military helicopters were being used to transport passengers' samples to the Pasteur Institute in Phnom Penh.

The Westerdam is not allowed to go anywhere while the tests are being conducted, said Mang Sineth.

The cruise ship had 1,455 passengers, many of whom already traveled to their forward destinations since they began to disembark from the ship last Friday.

The Westerdam was turned away from four ports around Asia before Cambodia allowed it to dock in Sihanoukville late last week.