Anvisa rules out coronavirus and allows Chinese vessel to dock at Santos

The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) ruled out suspicions of coronavirus onboard the Kota Pemimpin, which was scheduled to dock this Monday (17/02) in the Port of Santos (SP). Last Friday (02/14), the vessel was obliged to send its onboard medical log to get permission to dock. Among the records, there are two crew members who had flu-like symptoms during the trip. The agency reported, however, that “so far, there is no cause for concern.” Although the cases are not being treated as suspected coronavirus cases, an assessment will be made on the ship by a team from Anvisa, the Ministry of Health and the epidemiological surveillance of the state of São Paulo and the municipality of Santos. The clinical conditions of the crew will be observed.

Even so, on Monday (17/02) the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) from Santos sent a letter to President Jair Bolsonaro, reporting concern about the mooring of the ship and future vessels suspected of having coronavirus. The statement called for even more transparency in prevention and quarantine activities. “It is important to clarify that the Port of Santos has a contingency plan for events of interest in public health, which can be triggered if any health or epidemiological risk is identified in any vessel that berths,” adds the statement by Anvisa.

Coronavirus cases being investigated in Brazil

Last Friday (02/14), the Ministry of Health reported that it is investigating four suspected cases of coronavirus in Brazil. Of the four people still suspected of having the virus, one is a 2-year-old child, another a 56-year-old adult, and two people in their 20s. Two are male and two are women. Everyone has a history of traveling to China, but not to Wuhan.

Source: Agência Brasil