Passenger ferry “Blue Star Mykonos” was placed in quarantine in the port of the island of Limnos on Thursday, after a crew member fell ill with coronavirus symptoms.
The crew member was reportedly suffering from a fever, with the captain of the ferry calling for an ambulance. An ambulance came to pick up the man at the northern mainland port of Kavala on Wednesday night.
The ferry then continued to sail from Kavala to Limnos, where the crew and Blue Star company were informed that the man was being tested for coronavirus.
The National Public Health Organization (EODY) subsequently ordered that the ferry be placed in quarantine at Limnos’ main port in the capital, Myrina.
The ferry currently holds 341 passengers and 77 crew members, yet 127 passengers are reported to have disembarked the ferry on Limnos, the mayor of Limnos told state broadcaster ERT TV.
The disembarked passengers have been instructed by health authorities to stay at home until the coronavirus test results are out. The ferry is to remain in quarantine also until results are out.
Greece also reported its first fatality from a coronavirus infection on Thursday, a 66-year-old man who had returned from a religious pilgrimage to Israel and Egypt at the end of February.
The deceased had underlying health issues, the health ministry said in a statement. There were 99 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Greece by late Wednesday.
