Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CRUISE SHIPS

New Norwegian cruise ship in quarantine after positive passenger coronavirus test

A Danish national has tested positive for coronavirus after returning home from a cruise ship in Norway.

Published: 5 August 2020 15:20 CEST
New Norwegian cruise ship in quarantine after positive passenger coronavirus test
The Seadream 1 ship in Bodø harbour. Photo: AFP

The ship, the SeaDream 1, has been put under quarantine in the harbour at Bodø after receiving notification that the passenger from its previous voyage was infected with the virus, Aftenposten reports.

All passengers currently on board the quarantined ship were to be tested for Covid-19 on Wednesday.

The infected passenger was on board the ship during its previous cruise and returned to Copenhagen from Tromsø on August 2nd, where they tested positive for coronavirus. No further information on the passenger has been released, according to a report by Danish news agency Ritzau.

According to Aftenposten’s report, passengers currently on board the ship have received messages from the shipowner SeaDream Yacht Club informing them that “we have no knowledge of other guests or crew members being infected or having symptoms of the virus, but we are taking all necessary precautions”.

 

The Norwegian Institute for Public Health (NIPH) said in a statement on Tuesday that all passengers from both the previous and current cruise must quarantined and also asked them to be tested for Covid-19.

They would be contacted by the shipowner, NIPH stated.

Earlier this week, Norway’s government said that crew and passengers currently on cruise ships in the country are to face stricter rules when going ashore, and no new cruises will be allowed to set sail for the next 14 days.

That came after a coronavirus outbreak on a ship operated by company Hurtigruten, which resulted of dozens of crew and passengers being infected.

READ ALSO: Norway's Covid-19 travel rules: Switzerland amongst next group of likely 'red' countries

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:53 CET
Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

READ ALSO: 

People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

SHOW COMMENTS