Coronavirus-hit Australian cruise ship docks off Montevideo port in Uruguay

An Australian cruise ship stranded off the coast of Uruguay for nearly two weeks reportedly arrived on the port of the country's capital Montevideo on April 11. Out of a total of 217 people on board, 128 people have tested positive for the coronavirus. The ship had been anchored on the port of Rio de la Plata since March 27. 

Following an agreement between Uruguay and Australia, about 110 passengers are due to be evacuated from the Greg Mortimer cruise ship and taken through a 'sanitary corridor’ to Montevideo’s international airport on April 11. They will then be sent back to Australia via a 'medically equipped' charter flight to Melbourn. According to reports, all those who have not contracted the virus will be taken to the runway directly without entering terminal with Uruguayan police escorting them. 

'Seated by test results' 

Australian company Aurore expeditions, who own the cruise ship reportedly said that  all the passengers will be “seated by test results and level of care required.”  As of now, eight people have been taken to hospitals in Montevideo with “life-threatening condition” following which all are in stable conditions international media reported. Uruguay's foreign ministering on  April 1 while talking to a news agency revealed that three Australian tourists undergoing hospital treatment have been allowed on the plane to Melbourne. 

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The other people shifted to the hospital included a couple who were hospitalized on April 8 after suffering from Pneumonia and a third person who has been receiving “clinical attention” since last week. In addition, two Australian citizens are currently in ICU while another Filipino crew member has been sent back to quarantine on the ship. Another two patients are Filipino and a British national. Uruguay has till now reported 494 cases of virus and seven deaths. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 has spread to other nations in Latin America with Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador, being one of the worst-hit.  

(Image credit: AP)

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