Renae Henry – Bali has controversially allowed hundreds of cruise ship passengers to disembark on the tourist island, despite them being turned away from other Indonesian ports over coronavirus fears.
Over the past week the travellers, many Australian, were refused permission to step off luxury vessel Viking Sun at two Javanese ports because two passengers were showing virus symptoms.
But Bali has bucked the trend, insisting that health officials overnight boarded the ship, screened and cleared all 1,200 crew and passengers.
"The result is all passengers and crew in healthy condition so as harbour master I have no reason to avoid them to go down from the ship," Agustinus Maun said.
Passengers were brought to shore at Bali's Benoa Harbour via tender, more than 300 of them to catch flights, and others for tours of the island which has so far had no confirmed cases of the virus.
"We had health checks again, there's no problem on the ship, no virus on the ship, everybody's very healthy and we're looking forward to a good time in Bali," an Australian man told 9News.
The retiree said he had to fill out forms and received a temperature check before being given the green light.
A crew member, just as pleased to be stepping off the ship, said: "I'm happy because now I can see my family at home and visit them, so thanks God".
The decision is reportedly a backflip for Bali Governor Wayan Koster who had previously said disembarking would be banned.
"As the best tourist destination in the world, we are very prone to health issues and thus, we have to be careful," Mr Koster told the Jakarta Post on Friday.
"We don't want to chase a small amount of money if it could have a major negative impact on tourism, the backbone of Bali's economy."
The Viking Sun is scheduled to continue its journey tomorrow night with Sri Lanka the next stop.