Cuba has come to the rescue of a British cruise ship rejected by port officials across the Caribbean for weeks, allowing more than 1,000 people on board ashore, including five confirmed to be infected with coronavirus.
The Associated Press reports that the Braemar arrived in the port of Mariel early on Wednesday morning, with medical workers in protective gear taking passengers from the ship to Jose Marti international airport.
Sailing the Caribbean since late February, the Braemar had already been turned away by the Dominican Republic, Barbados and the Bahamas. Cuba said it is allowing the passengers to transit as an act of humanitarian solidarity.
Ramón Castillo, head of the company of pilots of ports of the Republic of Cuba, told a press conference:
We were asked to carry out a humanitarian, safe and fast operation; Based on these three premises, the plan that we are fulfilling this morning was designed.
Operations are carried out safely by personnel with proven competence and their qualifications as established by international regulations
Most of the 682 passengers were expected to arrive in London on Thursday morning on planes chartered by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, while those with the coronavirus or flu-like symptoms were being flown to a British military base on a separate plane.
It comes as Cuba announced its first death from the coronavirus, a 61-year-old Italian tourist who was one of 10 confirmed cases on the island.
– The Guardian
