One dead in Covid-19 outbreak on ship off Bulgaria’s Bourgas
An outbreak of Covid-19 has swept through a Filipino-crewed cargo ship off Bulgaria’s Black Sea port of Bourgas, leaving one person dead and several of the crew ill, according to a statement on July 20 by the Health Ministry.
The first patient had complaints of fatigue, cough and fever on July 7, and was transported to the University Hospital in Bourgas on July 14, where an antigen test for Covid-19 proved positive, the ministry said.
The remaining 19 members of the ship’s crew were tested on July 15. Eleven tested positive.
The crew was ordered into isolation and their overall condition is monitored daily, the ministry said. Disinfection of the vessel has been ordered.
Three of those who tested positive have fever and coughs.
On July 18, the crew member in hospital in Bourgas was transferred to the intensive care ward, and died the next day.
On July 19, another crew member who had tested positive had difficulty breathing, while his overall condition deteriorated. He has been transferred to the hospital in Bourgas.
The ministry said that the ship had arrived in Bourgas on July 14 and had been scheduled to depart on July 23. Its previous port of call was in the United Arab Emirates.
Health authorities are monitoring the development of the situation and are exercising strict control to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the ministry said.
For the rest of The Sofia Globe’s continuing coverage of the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria, please click here.
The Sofia Globe’s coverage of the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria is supported by the Embassies of Switzerland and Finland.
Please support independent journalism by clicking on the orange button below. For as little as three euro a month or the equivalent in other currencies, you can support The Sofia Globe via patreon.com:
