Ship with virus cases aboard docks in Pireaus

A ship carrying 119 people who have tested positive for the new coronavirus has been allowed to dock at a pier in Piraeus.

Greece's Civil Protection Deputy Minister, Nikos Hardalias, said on Friday that those who tested negative would be allowed to disembark and be transported to hotels for a 14-day quarantine before being repatriated to their home countries.

There are 380 people on board.

The ship, Eleftherios Venizelos - chartered to house workers from various countries who were to work on a shipbuilding project in Spain - had been anchored outside Greece's main port of Piraeus for several days.

On Thursday, Hardalias said everyone on board had been tested for the virus after an initial positive case was confirmed last week.

Results came back negative for 259 and positive for 119, while tests for two people needed to be repeated. He said all on board were well and had not yet presented any symptoms.

According to the Ministry of Shipping, those on board the ship come from Greece, Belarus, Cuba, Bulgaria, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.