Thousands from HK cruise ship freed after virus tests

Thousands of people stranded aboard a cruise ship in Hong Kong for five days were allowed to disembark yesterday after its 1,800 crew tested negative for the deadly new coronavirus. Health authorities in the Asian financial hub said the crew and a similar number of passengers had been released from a quarantine imposed due to fears that some staff could have contracted the deadly virus on a previous voyage and passed it on. The World Dream carried three Chinese passengers to Vietnam between January 19 and 24 who were later found to be infected with the SARS-like coronavirus, which has killed more than 800 people in China since it emerged in December.