Chennai, Feb 19 (IANS) In a big relief, two Chinese crew of M.V. Magnate ship that berthed at the Chennai port with mild fever were declared free of coronavirus infection after the tests of their blood samples turned negative.
Earlier they were isolated inside the vessel and their blood samples were sent for testing for suspected coronavirus infection, said Chennai port officials.
The ship was also kept out-of-bounds for people from the shore and none of the crew was allowed shore access.
According to port officials, the ship with 19 Chinese crew was allowed to berth on February 18 after an incubation period of 14 days from the last visit to a Chinese port after ensuring all crew were healthy based on pre-arrival monitoring.
On berthing, the port’s health officials boarded the ship and examined the crew. They found two out of 19 crew had mild fever without other respiratory symptoms and were healthy otherwise.
According to Chennai Port, the state health team and the Port Health Officer, Chennai visited the ship on Wednesday and collected the blood samples and sent them for testing to Kings Institute of Preventive Medicine, here.
The blood test results turned negative for coronavirus infection.
–IANS
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