An 88-year-old Maltese man who has been stuck aboard a cruise ship in Cambodia due to a coronavirus scare will be allowed home, with all remaining passengers given the all-clear.
The senior citizen was one of around 200 passengers who remained aboard the MV Westerdam after the majority of its passengers were evacuated last week.
On Wednesday, health authorities in Cambodia said that the remaining passengers were now free to leave the ship.
Maltese health authorities have been in touch with the octogenarian, who told Times of Malta that passengers stuck aboard were in good spirits but bored.
“There is a bit of an eerie feeling now that we are left on board, just 200 instead of 2,000, and missing friends. We were a table of 10 and are now reduced to just three,” he said.
The man is expected to be placed in quarantine for 14 days when he returns to Malta, as a precautionary measure. Two other Maltese passengers who were aboard the MV Westerdam but evacuated last week are also currently in quarantine.
The cruise ship docked in Sihanoukville, Cambodia last week after being refused entry to several ports in Asia because of a suspected coronavirus case on board.
Passengers started being evacuated last week but that process was abruptly halted a few days ago after an American woman who was aboard was diagnosed with COVID-19, the new coronavirus, as she tried to enter Malaysia.
'I would take another cruise'
The Maltese man explained how as a safety precaution the remaining passengers were not even allowed to go ashore in Cambodia for a stroll.
But the incident has not put him off travelling, and he is already thinking of another cruise trip.
“I travel three or four times a year but only started taking cruises since last summer. In my younger days I travelled extensively through Europe by car, having covered practically all European countries.
“I would certainly take another cruise - as a matter of fact I am considering doing the Panama Canal later on. I have travelled both to America and Canada from east to west and did China as a land tour. Quite simply I love traveling.”
But before any of that happens, he will have to wait for details about his trip back to Malta, which the US liner seems to be taking care of.
The man travels on his own since his wife became bedridden some 12 years ago, but he has always found it easy to make friends and acquaintances and never felt lonely.
“Luckily my children support me in encouraging me to travel, and it seems my love of traveling has passed on to them as well,” he added.