In the backdrop of novel coronavirus claiming over 2,100 lives in China, two ships anchored on the coast off Dhamra in Bhadrak district have led to panic among locals.
The vessels from Hong Kong reached here via Chittagong in Bangladesh on Wednesday.
After coming to know that the ships have come from China, panic spread among the locals about the new strain of corona virus spreading.
However, the district administration allayed the fears. ADM Shyambhakt Mishra said, “I spoke to the Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DPCL) authorities. They said two ships from Hong Kong have arrived here and the crew members have undergone screening for the deadly virus. There is no such indication and people shouldn’t panic.”
The ships would leave the coast after loading cargo from here. As they don’t have immigration passes, the crew members won’t be allowed to disembark, the port authorities said.
Notably, Hong Kong is controlled by the People’s Republic of China after it was liberated as a British colony in 1997.
Earlier this month, the Paradip Port Trust had not allowed crew members of seven ships to disembark at the port town in view of the rapidly spreading infection in Wuhan in central China. The ships had come from China, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.