Singapore’s ‘cruise to nowhere’ pilot for safe cruises will continue as planned, the city state’s tourism board has confirmed.
The decision comes after a four-day cruise out of Singapore was cut short by a suspected case of Covid-19 among one of the ship’s passengers.
On Thursday, Singapore’s ministry of health (MOH) confirmed that following additional tests, the passenger on Royal Caribbean International’s 169,000-dwt Quantum of the Seas (built 2014) did not have Covid-19.
“We have rescinded the Quarantine Orders of his close contacts, who had earlier been placed on quarantine as a precautionary measure while investigations were ongoing,” the MOH said.
It added that it will “support the laboratory on board the Quantum of the Seas in its review of its testing processes”.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said that the response to the incident had been “swift and robust” adding that protocols were validated by the response.
“Safety remains our foremost priority, and yesterday’s incident has given us valuable learnings for future sailings, such as the importance of using TraceTogether for effective contact tracing,” said STB chief executive Keith Tan.
“In particular, I would like to commend Royal Caribbean International and the terminal operator SATS-Creuers for the timely execution of their emergency protocols.
“Their professionalism gives us confidence that our pilot cruises will continue to be safe and sustainable, as we work with our partners and cruise lines to chart a new course for safe cruising.”
STB said the government will “continue to monitor the outcomes of the pilot sailings” in the coming months before deciding on the next steps for cruises.
Singapore, which has reported just over 58,000 Covid-19 cases and 29 deaths, has barely seen any new local infections in recent weeks.
The city state has been piloting the cruise to nowhere concept, which is open only to residents, makes no stops and sails in waters just off the island.
The initial cruises where well subscribed due to pent-up demand from Singaporeans who have been living under Covid-19 restrictions since April.
