Chennai, Feb 19 (IANS): Two Chinese crew of M.V. Magnate ship that berthed at the Chennai port have been isolated inside the vessel and their blood samples were sent for testing for suspected coronavirus infection, said Chennai Port Trust.

The ship is also kept out-of-bounds for people from the shore and none of the crew are allowed shore access.

According to port officials, the ship with 19 Chinese crew was allowed to berth on February 18 after an incubation period of 14 days from the last visit to a Chinese port after ensuring all crew were healthy based on pre-arrival monitoring.

On berthing, the port's health officials boarded the ship and examined the crew. They found two out of 19 crew had mild fever without other respiratory symptoms and were healthy otherwise.

According to Chennai Port, the state health team and the Port Health Officer, Chennai visited the ship on Wednesday and collected the blood samples and sent them for testing to Kings Institute of Preventive Medicine, here.

The blood test results are expected Wednesday evening.

After the receipt of the report, the port authorities and the port health team will take strict measures as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) regarding future action, the port said.