Four foreign crew members from the Hurtigruten ship Roald Amundsen have been admitted to hospital in Tromsø with a proven coronary infection. Here is the ship at the quay in Tromsø. Photo: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen / NTB scanpix Photo: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen / NTB scanpix
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But there are still 20 passengers that Hurtigruten has not yet come into contact with.
– 35 pieces have now tested positive on the corona, in addition to a passenger from the voyage that ended on 24 July.
This is what the Mayor of Tromsø, Gunnar Wilhelmsen (Labor Party), says at the municipality’s press conference about the situation around the Hurtigruten ship MS Roald Amundsen on Saturday night.
On Saturday night, Tromsø municipality states that they have received answers to five further tests, and that one of them was positive.
This means that 36 out of 160 crew members have now been confirmed infected.
There are still 20 of the total of 177 passengers that Hurtigruten has not yet come into contact with, according to Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam.
31 of those who have been diagnosed with the infection should not have had symptoms so far, according to the CEO. The vast majority do not have Norwegian nationality.
33 of those infected are from the Philippines. Skjeldam suspects that the infection has come with one of these.
– The hypothesis is that the infection came with one of the Filipino employees, he says.
According to Kathrine Kristoffersen, the municipal chief in Tromsø, four of Hurtigruten’s crew members have been admitted to UNN.
– Challenging to get an overview
VG has received confirmation that FThe Norwegian Institute of Public Health advised Hurtigruten to notify all 209 passengers who was on board the voyage 17-24. July on Wednesday. The alert was not followed up.
To TV2 says Skjeldam that he never heard about the advice from the National Institute of Public Health.
During the press conference, the director was asked why it took so long before the passengers were informed of the infection.
He explains that the situation was long confusing for everyone involved, but that Hurtigruten saw as quickly as they could establish a dialogue with the municipality.
– It was a challenging job to get an overview, Skjeldam explains.
He is aware that they have not taken a position on whether something has gone wrong in the communication with the passengers.
– We will continue to work closely with the municipality and national authorities. Then we will consider whether we could have done things differently when we get an overview of the situation, he says.
Critical
Tromsø mayor Gunnar Wilhelmsen (Labor Party) has told the newspaper Northern Lights that he is critical of how Hurtigruten has handled the infection situation on the ship.
Wilhelmsen believes that passengers should have been informed and quarantined before the ship docked.
– An evaluation of this whole situation will show that there were things that could have been done better, Wilhelmsen says.
The mayor also fears a major outbreak after potentially infected passengers were around the city before they became aware of the situation.
—SHOCKED: – It is allowed to make mistakes, but Hurtigruten, which is a professional company that many depend on, must put all cards on the table, says parliamentary representative for Troms county Kent Gudmundsen (H). Photo: Frode Hansen
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– Shocked
Storting representative for Troms county Kent Gudmundsen (H) tells VG that he is shocked at how Hurtigruten has handled the situation.
– From what I have read in the media, it is clear that Hurtigruten has had clear breaches of its routines. They have not been well enough prepared for how to launch their ships during a global pandemic, he believes.
Gudmundsen reacts in particular to how such a large proportion of the crew may have been infected.
– I wonder what routines they have had for hygiene, such as washing common areas. There are many unanswered questions that need to be answered.
– It is allowed to make mistakes, but Hurtigruten, which is a professional company that many depend on, must put all cards on the table, he says.
The parliamentary representative is also concerned about how the infection control routines are on other Hurtigruten boats.
Gudmundsen asks the health authorities to come on the field.
– This is a major outbreak that has enormous consequences for society. The Hurtigruten should be a transport artery that people should trust. FHI must check whether there has been a breach of the infection control rules, he says.
High: – A serious situation
Minister of Health and Care Services Bent Høie (H) emphasizes the importance of Hurtigruten passengers complying with the quarantine after the outbreak.
All passengers and crew members have been quarantined.
– It is a serious situation when so many are affected. Now it is important to concentrate on getting in touch with everyone and conducting infection tracking. It is important that those on the voyages are quarantined and that the municipalities that are affected conduct active infection tracking, says Høie to NTB.
Høye says that his impression is that Tromsø Municipality and the National Institute of Public Health assist well, and information is widely reported in the media.
He also says that the health authorities will review the entire course of events and find out if the regulations have been broken.
– I want to praise Tromsø municipality for the formidable efforts they make in a very demanding situation. I am very grateful for the effort they put in, the Minister of Health concludes.
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