Many in Covid-affected ship above 50 years

COIMBATORE: A total of 17 Indian passengers, all from Tamil Nadu, are stranded in a cruise ship that is docked in the Nile near Luxor city in Egypt since Thursday after 12 crew members and 33 passengers tested positive for Covid-19. One passenger from Chennai was shifted to a hospital in the port city of Alexandria on Saturday after he developed symptoms of Covid-19.The crew has announced that all passengers in the ship will be quarantined for 14 days more.The cruise ship ‘A Sara’ has 171 passengers on board. After the ship docked in Luxor, all the passengers were screened. Those who tested positive were shifted to a hospital.Vanitha Rengaraj, 60, founder of Sharanalayam, a home for children, and her husband R Rengaraj, 62, who hailed from Coimbatore, were quarantined in the ship. Vanitha Rengaraj, who spoke to TOI over the phone from the ship, said the 18 passengers from Tamil Nadu had left India on February 27. They were supposed to be back on March 7.Most of the passengers are above 50 years, said Vanitha Rengaraj. “All the passengers in the ship were quarantined from Friday and we were told not to come out of the allotted rooms. We were instructed to wash our hands often and use masks,” she said.“We were not provided food on time . We brought the issue to the notice of our family members who approached the Indian Embassy in Egypt. We asked the crew members to supply vegetarian food,” said Vanitha.She said the kitchen in the ship was closed for sterilization for the past two days and food was brought from outside.The passengers had embarked on the cruise through Salem based tour operator ‘Grand Royal Tours’. “The package included a Nile cruise and we visited many wonderful places. Before leaving India, the tour operator told us that there was no fear of Covid-19,” she said. “The crew members taught us how to face the critical situation. They promised us to provide all medical facilities and they created a temporary hospital in the ship. Like the passengers, the crew is also in a state of panic,” said Vanitha.Her daughter Saranya Rengaraj told TOI that she had approached the Indian Embassy in Egypt. “We hope the government will rescue the 18 Indians who were quarantined in the cruise ship soon,” she said.