That’s not an encouraging article, not as reported anyway. It seems unclear if the passengers just had their temps taken and were released, or if they’re being kept (for only six hours?) from disembarkation until a more complete test is finished.
I realize that 1 MD and 25 medical workers administered tests, but all tests were completed in 6 hours? Because with 1,738 passengers onboard that’s about 300 passengers per hour tested, tests read, results recorded and communicated, and off the ship they go. That’s not a lot of time.
If they only screened for symptoms (fever) and allowed them to disembark, then it seems Taiwan has tacitly agreed to expose the island to an elevated risk of infection. Even with the 14 day self quarantine in place, they all have to travel home. That’s fine, I guess. They’re all Taiwanese and this is their home, after all.
But assuming that risk (and that’s a big assumption right now) would also seem to increase the risk to everyone here, and would also seem to increase the risk that Taiwan will eventually be quarantined from international travel.
Chen and 25 medical workers boarded the SuperStar Aquarius and took the temperatures of all 1,738 passengers. Through the intercom, Chen congratulated the passengers for arriving home and urged them to stay calm during the health examinations.
At a press conference Saturday afternoon, Chen said that no passengers have shown signs of fever but that the conclusive results of the tests will be revealed at a later time. He said it will take approximately six hours to complete the entire screening process and that the passengers’ travel histories will also be checked.
"He said it will take approximately six hours to complete the entire screening process …
Chen emphasized that no passenger, regardless of nationality, will be allowed to disembark if they test positive for the coronavirus. "
What kind of c*** is this? The ship in Japan took so long time to have everyone tested and long time to get the results back but magically in Taiwan they got everything sorted in 10 hours including receiving the test results already? Is this a joke?!
From the article “ around 9 p.m. Saturday, Chen announced that all passengers on the SuperStar Aquarius have been tested negative for the coronavirus. He said that the Taiwanese aboard are clear to return home, but have to continue to monitor their health and follow the 14-day home quarantine rule.“
I suspected they would do that because of the whining of the people on board, but I never expected they would go ahead with this idiocy just because someone is complaining the ship is like a prison.
What am I missing? Does the SuperStar Aquarius have any connection at all to known coronavirus patients? The one in Japan was flagged because someone who got off the vessel was later determined to have the virus. But as far as I can tell, the Aquarius goes back and forth between Taiwan and Japan, and currently is no more a source of concern than any random plane coming from Tokyo or London. (Which to be fair, is not zero.)
