Coronavirus Outbreaks Inside a Norwegian Cruise Ship

COPENHAGEN, KOMPAS.com — A Norwegian cruise ship MS Roald Amundsen is at the center of new coronavirus outbreaks which the company said happened due to procedural errors.

The MS Roald Amundsen is operated by Norwegian cruise line Hurtigruten.

A Covid-19 case on one MS Roald Amundsen ship has infected five passengers and 36 crew members, but authorities fear that dozens of towns and villages along Norway’s western coast may have also been infected.

The 41 people on the MS Roald Amundsen who tested positive have been admitted to the University Hospital of North Norway in Tromsoe, north of the Arctic Circle, where the ship is currently docked.

“A preliminary evaluation shows that there has been a failure in several of our internal procedures,” Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam said in a statement.

He added the company that sails along Norway's picturesque coast between Bergen in the south and Kirkenes in the north is “now in the process of a full review of all procedures, and all aspects of our own handling."

The cruise line has contacted passengers who had been on the MS Roald Amundsen for its July 17-24 and July 25-31 trips from Bergen to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, which is known for its polar bears.

There were 209 guests on the first voyage and 178 guests on the second voyage.

All 158 crew members on MS Roald Amundsen have been tested and 122 were negative.

But since the cruise ship line often acts like a local ferry, traveling from port to port along Norway's western coast, the virus may not have been contained onboard.

Some passengers disembarked along the route and may have spread the virus to their local communities.

The municipality of Tromsoe is urging anyone who traveled on the ship or had any contact with the ship to get in touch with health authorities.

A total of 69 municipalities in Norway have been affected, Norwegian news agency NTB reported.

It's not known how the outbreak began since guests come from all over the world. NTB said 33 of the 36 crew members that have tested positive came from the Philippines and the others came from Norway, France and Germany.

Over the weekend, Skjeldam said cruise ship officials did not know that they should have notified the passengers after the first case was reported Friday, adding that they followed the advice of the ship’s doctors.