Havana, Cuba.- Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on Thursday highlighted the coordinated work carried out by Cuba and the United Kingdom for the return of the passengers of the cruise ship MS Braemar, with five confirmed cases of the new coronavirus known as SARS-Cov-2.

Through his Twitter account, Rodriguez stated that the return, according to the plan, ended early Thursday at the Jose Marti International Airport.

‘The operation was carried out as planned and the corresponding health and safety measures were adopted. Cuba’s best wishes to passengers and crew. Together against the coronavirus,’ the foreign minister wrote.

The cruise ship MS Braemar docked early Wednesday at Mariel port, located 50 kilometers west of Havana, where the evacuation began.

The cruise ship, belonging to the British company Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, had been looking for a port since late February with 682 passengers and 381 crew members on board after being rejected in several Caribbean ports.

Early this week, Rodriguez himself confirmed that Cuba would allow them to dock at the request of the British Government, following the security protocols established by the World Health Organization and the island’s Ministry of Public Health.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab thanked in front of the Parliament of his country Cuba’s gesture to allow the cruise ship could dock and help in the repatriation of tourists and crew on board.