Tourism ministry taking precautions for coronavirus

Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell says, with the arrival of almost 5000 passengers and crew aboard the MSC Preziosa cruise ship on Thursday, the authorities are taking all precautions to prevent the coronavirus from entering the country.

In a statement to the media on Wednesday, Mitchell said the ship’s arrival today signal’s the first to arrive in the country since the virus was discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The death toll from the virus has risen to 17 and there are reports of at least 547 confirmed cases of people infected.

Mitchell said most of the ship’s passengers are from Italy, France, Germany, England, Portugal, Martinique, Guadeloupe and other countries.

He expressed confidence that the visitors will have an enjoyable and memorable experience in Trinidad as they will be greeted by an exciting cultural presentation, which includes entertainment by moko jumbies and other Carnival characters.

“While hundreds of the visitors are expected to go on pre-arranged tours to popular tourist sites and attractions, others will remain in the city and get a glimpse of our restored Parliament building.”