2 more seafarers aboard COVID-stricken ship off Sangley Point hospitalized

2 more seafarers aboard COVID-stricken ship off Sangley Point hospitalized
May 10 2021 https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/10/21/2-more-seafarers-aboard-covid-str...

MANILA—Another 2 seafarers were hospitalized out of the Filipino crew of a container ship that arrived in the country last week, the Philippines' Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) said Monday.

Half of that crew were infected with COVID-19.

Seafarers of MV Athens Bridge had difficulty breathing but were stabilized at the hospital, said Capt. Jeffrey Solon, officer-in-charge of Marina Office of the Deputy Administrator for Planning.

" 'Yung 2 sa 10 sinugod sa ospital dahil bumaba ang oxygen level. 'Di naman sila kinonsider na critical pa. Na-stabilize naman po," Solon told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

(Two out of 10 crewmen were brought to the hospital because their oxygen level fell. They were not considered critical. They were stabilized.)

Twelve of the 21 seafarers had tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival Thursday after a 2-day port stop in India, where the disease has caused record-breaking deaths and infection rates, Marina earlier said. The ship is currently anchored some 10 kilometers off Sangley Point, Cavite.

In total, 4 of the 12 crewmen who tested positive for the coronavirus were hospitalized, Solon said. The remaining 8 are in quarantine and "doing good," he added.

Nine other seafarers are aboard the ship and set to disembark on Friday to be isolated at a hotel facility for 10 days, according to Solon.

Authorities are awaiting news from the Philippine Genome Center about what COVID-19 variant the crew might have, if any, Solon said.