Guam denies entry to ship over coronavirus concerns

The government of Guam has denied a State Department request to allow a cruise ship to dock on the island over concerns some passengers may be infected with coronavirus.

A release from the governor's office stated acting Gov. Josh Tenorio denied entry to the MS Westerdam, a British-American private cruise vessel with 1,455 guests and 802 crew members.

There are no known cases of coronavirus aboard the vessel, according to Holland America cruise line, but it has been turned away by the Philippines and Japan over concerns about the illness.

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Tenorio consulted with Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero and denied the request, the release stated.

“While we feel for every soul on board the MS Westerdam. Our obligation is to protect the people of Guam," Leon Guerrero said. "Though Guam is prepared to deal with the potential implications of the coronavirus, few jurisdictions can screen, quarantine, or treat 1,400 patients at one time. We respect that Guam has a duty to the nation we love, but that duty cannot jeopardize the health and safety of our people.”

“We have made clear that we will use every tool available to us to protect our people and our border,” Tenorio said.

The Westerdam docked in Hong Kong on Feb. 1 and boarded approximately 800 passengers. The vessel sought entry at two other ports but was denied, given the potential risk of infection and the need for a large quarantine, the release stated.

Based on information from counterparts at the Center for Disease Control and the U.S. State Department, the vessel has enough food and fuel to sustain itself, the release stated. 

Princess Cruises cases

Meanwhile, the Japanese Ministry of Health notified Princess Cruises that an additional 41 people screened aboard another ship, the Diamond Princess, have tested positive for coronavirus, the cruise line said in a statement. 

On Wednesday, Princess Cruises confirmed 20 diagnosed cases of coronavirus on the ship, which was already under a 14-day quarantine. Guests testing positive are expected to be transported to local hospitals immediately, according to USA TODAY.

Guam precautions

To date, there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Guam. 

The Department of Public Health and Social Services continues to follow established protocols for reporting infections of public health significance, according to a news release. 

Guam medical providers are reaching out to Public Health to discuss and evaluate suspicious cases, the release stated.

Testing at CDC

CDC recently developed a new laboratory kit that tests patient specimens for the virus, and Public Health has requested the test kits to establish testing on Guam, the release stated.

Each test kit can test approximately 400 patient specimens. On Feb. 5, the CDC began shipping diagnostic test kits to U.S. domestic laboratories and select international laboratories, the release stated.

This article originally appeared on Pacific Daily News: Guam denies entry to ship over coronavirus concerns