Coronavirus-stricken Antarctica cruise ship to dock in Montevideo

The coronavirus-stricken Antarctica cruise ship has been allowed to dock in Montevideo and the passengers will subsequently be flown home, Uruguay's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The cruise ship, Greg Mortimer, with more than 100 infected people on board, is anchored some 24 kilometers (15 miles) offshore and will be allowed to dock on Friday.

Of 217 people on the ship, the Greg Mortimer, 128 had tested positive for the virus that causes the COVID-2019 disease and 89 tested negative.

The infected people were all asymptomatic, said Aurora Expeditions, the Australian operator of the Greg Mortimer ship that is working to disembark the crew and passengers and arrange flights to their home countries.

A medical plane to evacuate Australian and New Zealand passengers will arrive in Uruguay on Thursday and will depart at dawn on Saturday for Melbourne.

An Australian couple suffering from a deteriorating COVID-19 condition were evacuated from the ship earlier on Wednesday, bringing to eight the number of passengers and crew to have been hospitalised in the Uruguayan capital.

The Airbus A340 plane contracted to fly them home is configured with medical facilities aboard... To look after the health and security of everyone.

However, there are no plans yet to repatriate a small number of European and American passengers.

Those to have tested negative could be evacuated in the coming days subject to a second test and permission from the Uruguayan government.

The cruise ship was originally due to tour Antarctica, South Georgia and Elephant Island but the expedition was called off on March 21 after South American countries and Australia started closing their borders and imposing strict lockdown regulations.

With ports all along the Atlantic coast of South America closed, the Greg Mortimer was forced to sail to Montevideo, more than 2,600 kilometers from South Georgia.

(With inputs from agencies)