A second passenger aboard an MSC cruise ship has tested positive while on the cruise line’s most recent trip, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.

The ship departed on February 28 and returned on March 2 after travelling from Durban to Mozambique. Mkhize confirmed the new infection at a press briefing on March 31.

This comes just days after the cruise line confirmed a passenger infection aboard the MSC Orchestra.

According to reports by The Newcastle Advertiser, the latest patient is a man from the Free State.

All passengers were advised to seek medical attention and isolate themselves for the appropriate amount of time.

Since the incident and the previous infection, port authorities have been notifying over 6000 passengers still aboard both ships of the health risks involved.

The Health Minister says the passengers need to be properly checked despite being aboard the ship for a long period of time.

“We do understand it’s been a while since they [the passengers] actually disembarked but nevertheless, we think it is important for us to just have a sense of their whereabouts. We want to make sure we can track all the individuals in case they did experience symptoms. It is important for us to go through this process just to close that whole chapter.

Passengers, who were on the cruises which departed on February 28 and on March 13, need to approach their medical doctors or Government public facilities to be able to be screened properly. We also just want to get a history of what has happened, if they have had symptoms and so on,” said Mkhize.

No statement from MSC has been released regarding the infections but they have announced that a further halting of their services will take place until May 29, 2020.

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