Miami residents quarantined on Nile River cruise despite negative test for coronavirus
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Three Miami residents are quarantined aboard an Nile River cruise that carried 33 people with confirmed cases of coronavirus. The Floridians tested negative for the virus on Friday.
Amarilys Khamissian, Grisell Parodi and Javier Parodi traveled to Cairo, Egypt on Sunday from Miami International Airport, Khamissian’s daughter Alexandra Varona said.
The trio are frequent travelers and were going to enjoy their first time in Egypt, Varona said. After spending a day in Cairo, they traveled to Aswan, Egypt, where they boarded the M.S Asara, a cruise ship that sails on the Nile River.
The ship arrived in Luxor, Egypt on Thursday and was towed outside the city and put under quarantine, Reuters reported. There were 171 people on board, including 101 passengers and 70 crew.
On Saturday, the health ministry said there were 33 confirmed cases of the virus aboard the ship. Health officials thought another 11 crew members might have had the virus but their tests were negative. Even so, those 11 are still under a two week-quarantine.
Although the three Miami residents tested negative, Varona said she is “extremely worried” about her mother’s safety.
“I want her and my cousins to get off that ship and back home as soon as possible,” Varona said.
Khamissian, 65, told her daughter that she would be quarantined on the ship for the next 14 days along with Varona’s cousins Grisell, 67, and Javier, 35.
Varona is worried about her mother’s health as she suffers from respiratory issues and was treated for asthma and bronchial illnesses. Jose Llinas, Grisell’s daughter’s husband, said that Grisell also suffers from lung issues and has had pulmonary fibrosis.
“They are worried on that ship because they are quarantined in a different country on a small ship in a small room,” Llinas said. “I want them off that ship and taken to an American base to be treated by American doctors.”
On Saturday, the Florida Department of Health advised anyone who traveled on a river cruise on the Nile River in February to self-isolate for 14 days from the date of their return to the United States. Several passengers in the U.S. have developed symptoms and have been confirmed to be infected with COVID-19, including two presumptive positive cases in Florida.
The state health department learned some people went on tours in Egypt, Israel and Jordan between Feb. 4 and 18, and may have been exposed to COVID-19. Those who traveled to those areas and are sick are being told to stay home and isolated from others. Before seeking medical care, the state says they should call their nearest county health department.
Last month, three Maryland patients were infected on M.S. Asara — a married couple in their 70s and an unrelated woman in her 50s, CBS Baltimore reported. The trio returned to the U.S. on Feb. 20, but weren’t tested until March 4 because at the time China was the only country where travelers were being tested.
Not officially connected to the Nile River cruise, the Houston Chronicle reported five positive cases of the virus that are part of a group that traveled to Egypt and returned in late February.
