A spokesperson for the Tourism Commission (TC) said today (October 21) that, the Department of Health (DH) identified a suspected re-positive case in the regular COVID-19 testing for crew members of Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas. In accordance with the contingency management mechanism devised for "cruise-to-nowhere" (CTN) itineraries, the TC, the DH and the cruise company immediately cancelled the sailing scheduled for departure from the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal at 7pm this evening.
The DH has separately announced the testing and quarantine arrangements for passengers and crew members of the cruise ship concerned. The TC has all along been closely working and following up with the cruise company. The cruise company has already arranged affected passengers to leave the terminal orderly, and informed them of the refund or rescheduling arrangements.
The spokesperson pointed out that CTN itineraries are subject to a set of stringent health precautionary measures to cope with the epidemic risks. In this regard, all passengers and crew members must be fully vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines, and must undergo polymerase chain reaction-based (PCR) nucleic acid tests within 48 hours before sailing and at a regular interval respectively and receive negative results. Cruise companies and passengers are also required to strictly comply with the respective anti-epidemic measures for cruise ships and various relevant premises. In the event that there is a suspected case on board during a cruise journey, the journey will be suspended at once and the departed cruise ship has to return to Hong Kong. The health authorities will determine the testing, medical surveillance and/or quarantine arrangements for the concerned passengers and crew members based on an epidemiological investigation and laboratory findings, having regard to the circumstances of the case.
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