Cruise Ship Passengers Have Follow-up Virus Testing At Greek Port

Passengers aboard the first cruise ship to sail to Greece since the coronavirus lockdown underwent follow-up coronavirus tests on Tuesday, with early results negative, a day after a dozen infections were reported, a health ministry source said.

The Maltese-flagged Mein Schiff 6, operated by Anglo-German travel giant TUI, is carrying 922 passengers and 666 crew.

It moored at the Greek port of Piraeus early Tuesday for rapid tests by inspectors from Greece's public health agency.

The Greek coastguard had said Monday that 12 crew members had tested positive, although TUI Cruises said they were asymptomatic.

But a health ministry source on Tuesday told AFP that the first results from follow-up tests had come back negative.

"The results were negative, the inspection continues," the source said.

The passengers had already been given a clean bill of health in tests carried out prior to the voyage, the Greek coastguard said Monday.

A lab in Iraklio, Crete, had run the original tests on 150 crew members that turned out the 12 positive results on Monday, state TV ERT said.

The cruise ship, originally sailing to Corfu via Piraeus, had been diverted to the Aegean island of Milos on Monday after the infections were detected, before being told to sail to Piraeus.

The ship was the first to return to Greek waters after lockdown measures imposed in March.