The captain of the Philippine ore ship “Pebble Beach”, where the entire crew is infected with covid-19, contacted the health authorities in Narvik municipality on Saturday night because he did not feel well.
– The municipal chief went on board, and the captain was admitted to the hospital in Narvik, municipal manager Rolf Lossius informs Dagbladet.
Thus, four of the crew of 17 are hospitalized in Narvik. All are from the Philippines.
There were 18 on board when the ship anchored in the fjord outside Narvik harbor on 5 November.
Died on board
Earlier this week, one of the crew died after the corona infection.
The crew is not allowed to leave the ship while they are in quarantine.
The ship, which is not allowed to leave Narvik until it has been examined by the Norwegian Maritime Directorate, was docked in Narvik earlier on Saturday.
This was for practical reasons to get hospital patients into another boat and to make it easier for the municipal superior with daily checks.
The infected ship may not leave Narvik
– How is the health of those who are in the hospital and those who are left on board?
– Those who are in the hospital have respiratory problems. They have entered from the ship for transport to the hospital for their own machine. Also on board there are some with respiratory problems. Health personnel from Narvik report improvement, says the municipal manager.
New crew before Narvik
The health authorities in Narvik reckon that there is very little probability that the infection has come ashore.
The infection has nothing to do with an outbreak in Narvik in recent days in Kjøpsvik, about 100 km from Narvik center.
The last landing for “Pebble Beach” before arriving in Narvik, was Rotterdam between 28 April and 1 May.
– There was a change to a new crew, what is isolated in Narvik now, says municipal manager Rolf Lossius.
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