A TOTAL of 310 Chinese crew members on the Costa Venezia cruise were released from isolation sites in Nanshan District on Wednesday after a 14-day quarantine, according to Shenzhen Special Zone Daily.

Approved by Guangdong Province and the city of Shenzhen, the Costa Venezia cruise redocked at Shekou Cruise Homeport on June 24, more than five months after its original schedule. The crew members spent over 150 days on the cruise ship before landing in Shekou.

After the disembarkation, it took Nanshan District 16 hours to arrange nucleic acid tests and isolation work for the 310 crew members.

All 310 crew members tested negative for COVID-19. After a 14-day isolation, they were finally able to exit the five hotels used for quarantine Wednesday morning.

Tan Yan, one of the crew members, said that the cruise had docked at several ports to resupply. However, personnel were not allowed to go ashore.

Tan said that she appreciated Shenzhen for receiving them. Tan recalled the day they arrived in Shenzhen, saying that she felt cared-for by the city.

Tan’s colleagues went to Shenzhen and prepared a performance to welcome her.

Another crew member, who goes by Su Di, said that he felt anxious when working on board but also lucky to be helped by so many staff.

He said that the hotel provided nutritious meals and even psychological service during the isolation.

Su Di worked in the cruise ship’s kitchen, which is his first job. He said that he will go back home to spend some time with his parents and reunite with his girlfriend.

Many crew members extended their appreciation to Shenzhen and Nanshan District during an interview with the daily.

Nanshan District set up a special team to take care of the 310 crew members. They divided the crew members into three groups for better management and to ensure that all can return home successfully, said staff with the Nanshan District Emergency Management Bureau.

Just five months ago, Nanshan District placed under quarantine the 148 people on board the Costa Venezia cruise who came from Wuhan or had recently traveled to Wuhan, where the virus was first reported. At that time, Nanshan was praised for its successful handling of the cruise at the peak of the epidemic. (Wang Jingli)