1738 passengers and 776 crew on cruise liner SuperStar Aquarius all cleared of coronavirus

As the epidemic continues to spread, there has been some good news. Some 128 passengers aboard the SuperStar Aquarius, an international cruise ship docked in Keelung Harbor, who had been singled out for further testing, were cleared of the novel coronavirus. All of the ship''s 1,738 passengers and 776 crew were permitted to disembark and return home on Saturday night. Health minister Chen Shih-chung personally came on board the ship to announce the good news.The good news was announced by Chen Shih-chung of the Central Epidemic Command Center over the ship’s PA system, and it was met with applause and cheers from the ship’s passengers. Chen Shih-chungCentral Epidemic Command CenterI am very glad that we are finally able to allow our compatriots and everyone else on the SuperStar Aquarius, to go home peacefully. I am extremely proud of this. I think our team this time really demonstrated the strength of Taiwan. One hundred and twenty-eight people had been singled out during quarantine work on the cruise ship, including people who were displaying symptoms but had never been to China, Hong Kong or Macau, foreign nationals and Taiwanese with a history of traveling in China, Hong Kong and Macau who were showing no symptoms. The test results were universally negative and all the passengers were able to disembark and return home for 14 days of “independent health management.” PassengerWe all believe in our physical health, and we believe that every one of us will be able to monitor our health on our own very well. The quarantine work was difficult because in addition to over 90% of the passengers being Taiwanese, there were 29 foreign nationals and 776 crew members of various nationalities, including some with a history of travel in the city of Wuhan. The Central Epidemic Command Center made the decision on the spot, on the ship, to relax the quarantine measures, clearing everybody of the virus.