Mumbai Port Trust restricts crew, passengers of ships from China

Mumbai Port Trust has restricted entry of crew and passengers of ships coming from China or certain other Southeast Asian Countries as a precautionary measure against novel coronavirus.

"The government of India has taken it very seriously. If any ship with Chinese crew members or passengers arrives here then our public health officer goes to the ship and conducts the health check-ups of all members on board. We have stopped their excursion, they are not allowed to enter into the city," said Sanjay Bhatia, Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust.

"We take the list of all on-board from the officials on the ship to check who all are from China or are coming through China. The health Officer does a thermal screening of all on board. We also do screening even at our anchorage in the deep sea," he said.

"If there is an emergency we have made arrangements to take the person to Kasturba Gandhi Hospital in a special ambulance. However, no patient with such a case has arrived here yet," he said.

The standard operating procedure guidelines issued by the government read, "For crew members who have visited China, in the last one month, no shore excursions will be allowed."

"For crew members showing symptoms of the virus, no excursion to be allowed and if required to be taken to Kasturba Gandhi Hospital on PHO's advice," the guidelines state.

"For all vessels coming from China, with Chinese crew, no shore permit shall be issued to the crew. For vessels coming from China, with Non-Chinese Crew, such crew to be screened for symptom and shore permit to be issued to crew members, who do not have any symptoms of sickness," read the guideline.