A passenger on the Westerdam cruise ship who initially tested positive for the new coronavirus may not actually have the disease, according to new reports Monday confirmed by the Center for Disease Control.
Tom and Dianne Durawa of Edgartown recently returned from a long saga aboard the cruise ship, after the carrier was denied entry at five ports in southeastern Asia. Although Cambodia finally welcomed the boat in Sihanoukville early last week, allowing the Durawas to disembark and return home, an unnamed American woman who also was on the boat later tested positive for the coronavirus in Malaysia.
Time Magazine and USA Today both reported Monday that the test appears to have been a false positive. According to Time, a spokesman from the CDC confirmed that two tests have come back negative after the passenger’s initial positive result. Testing on the ship’s other 1,500 passengers also came back negative. The CDC told Time that passengers aboard the Westerdam were at “no” or “low risk” for the virus.
The Durawas and Edgartown officials previously stated that the couple would voluntarily quarantine themselves at their Vineyard home. Reached by telephone Monday, Edgartown town administrator James Hagerty said the town has been in communication with the Durawas and had also spoken with state epidemiologists. The status has not changed, Mr. Hagerty said.
The Durawas were screened for the virus when they disembarked the cruise ship in mid-February, and have shown no symptoms of the virus.
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