6,000 Passengers Are Held On Cruise Ship Off Italian Coast Over Coronavirus Worries

Jan 30, 2020 by apost team

The cruise ship Costa Smeralda has been detained in the city of Civitavecchia off the Italian coast as a sick passenger and her husband are tested for the newly discovered coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly all over the world.

On Thursday morning local time, the boat was docked but the 6,000 passengers were prevented from disembarking until the test results come back.

It was discovered that a 54-year-old woman from Macau aboard the ship presented with a fever that could be associated with the coronavirus. The cruise ship took precautionary measures and placed her into isolation in the liner's hospital ward along with her husband, who did not present symptoms. The Guardian reports that 3 doctors and a nurse had boarded the ship to take samples and to take care of the sick woman.

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Reuters reports that the Costa Smeralda made stops in Marseilles in France, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca in Spain, and then finally docked in Civitavecchia, which is near Rome. The Guardian also reports that the couple boarded their plane from Hong Kong and arrived in Milan to take the cruise last week.

The cruise ship and health authorities are handling the situation according to procedure:

“As soon as the suspected case emerged, medical staff onboard immediately activated the necessary health procedures for cases of this kind,” the cruise ship's company Costa Crociere said in a statement to The Guardian . “Our priority is to guarantee the health and safety of our guests and team.”

The coronavirus is a new respiratory sickness that started in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019 and has been spreading exponentially through several countries. The New York Times reports that as of Thursday there have been over 7,000 reported cases confirmed globally with approximately 170 deaths, all of which were reported in China. 

Hopefully the passenger's test results will come back negative for the coronavirus and the passengers can disembark without any incident. Be sure to tell others about this story to keep them updated on the latest developments on the present global health situation.