Panaji, Mar 11 (IANS): Goa's Non Resident Indian affairs Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar on Wednesday said that he would write to the Union Ministry for External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in the US to enquire about the well-being of five Goan sailors who are onboard a cruise liner 'Grand Princess', which has been quarantined off the coast of California since March 9.

"Goa NRI Commission has taken note of the news and will write to MEA & Embassy for safety of Goan sailors on Grand Princess at California," Sawaikar tweeted.

The Goa NRI Commissioner acts as a liaison between the state government and the vast expat population of Goans.

Nearly 3,500 people are onboard the cruise liner, out of which 21 have tested positive for coronavirus.

Meanwhile, a Goan sailor with a history of travelling to Italy and Finland has been quarantined in a Goa hospital since his return to the state two days ago, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on Wednesday.

"He had come in contact with a coronavirus patient mid-February while he was working on a ship," Rane said in a statement issued to the media on Wednesday.

The Health Minister said that the 27-year-old sailor, who hails from Vasco town in South Goa, had de-boarded the ship and travelled to Finland and Italy before returning to Goa on Monday.

His whereabouts were tracked by Health Ministry officials subsequently, and he was admitted to the isolation ward of the Goa Medical College near Panaji.