Havana, March 18 (RHC)-- Cuban authorities are receiving this Wednesday the travelers and crew of the British cruise ship MS Braemar, with five Covid-19 patients, for their immediate repatriation to the United Kingdom.

The ship is docking at the port of Mariel (West) and four chartered planes will leave from José Martí International Airport for London after 18:00, local time, according to the operating company Fred Olsen Cruise Line.

Francisco Duran,  National Director of Epidemiology at the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, during a radio and television interview on Tuesday, said that measures had been taken both at the port and at the airport.

"This is an act that a large part of the world appreciates," he added.

This repatriation process is being carried out in coordination by Cuban and British authorities, and health care is planned on the island for any sick traveler who is not fit enough to be transferred.

The ship, whose entry to regional ports was banned by the authorities of other countries, has been in Cuban territorial waters since Tuesday.

The operators of MS Braemar said there are currently 28 guests in isolation for showing flu-like symptoms. This includes two people who tested positive for Covid-19 in Willemstad, Curaçao, on the 10th.

On Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab thanked the Cuban government for allowing the cruise ship to dock and helping with the repatriation of its passengers and crew.

In Cuba, there are currently seven reported cases of the coronavirus, all imported or related to travelers from abroad.