Two Norrøna staff members test Covid positive

Two staff members on board ferry Norrøna, which arrived in Tórshavn from Denmark this morning, have tested positive for Covid-19, newspaper Dimmalætting reports.

All passengers and staff were tested ahead of departure from Hirtshals, Denmark, on Saturday. When the results became available a few hours after departure, it turned out that two staff members had tested positive.

Norrøna captain Bogi Petersen says that contact tracing is currently taking place and the chief medical officer has been contacted.

“Although there are no guarantees, we know that only one of the infected staff members was in contact with passengers. This contact was brief, and the staff member wore a face mask throughout the trip, even before the test results became available,” he says.

Minimal risk of infection

“Considering the brief contact and that it is commonly believed that infection requires close contact for about 15 minutes in a small enclosed area, I would say it is extremely unlikely that there has been any transmission to passengers.”

The captain adds that the two staff members in question boarded the ferry from Hirtshals and were not on board on the trip from Tórshavn to Hirtshals.

All staff members are being tested this morning, and follow-up tests will be carried out on Thursday.

“Eleven staff members have been quarantined, and we will get new staff in for our upcoming trips, so our sailing schedule will not be affected,” says Petersen.

In related news, no new Covid cases were registered in the Faroes yesterday.

For further information about Covid-19 in the Faroes, visit corona.fo.

Translated by prosa.fo