Cruise Passengers Are Held at Italian Port Over Coronavirus Fears
Source: New York Times
CIVITAVECCHIA, Italy — Thousands of passengers aboard an Italian cruise ship were being blocked from disembarking in a port town north of Rome on Thursday over fears that a passenger might have contracted the coronavirus that has sickened more than 7,700 people in mainland China and killed at least 170.
A Chinese national aboard the ship, the Costa Smeralda, came down with a fever and was experiencing respiratory problems The cruise company said in a statement that 5,023 passengers and 1,628 crew were aboard the ship. A statement from the cruise company confirmed that a “sanitary protocol” had been put in place for one female passenger.
The precaution comes amid international fears that the outbreak of the coronavirus — first detected in a seafood and poultry market in Wuhan, China, last month — will become a global epidemic. Although most of the thousands who have contracted it are in mainland China, at least 68 cases have been reported outside the country.
The ship docked in the port town, Civitavecchia, on Thursday around 8 a.m. after arriving from the Spanish port of Palma de Majorca. It was part of the way through a seven-day cruise in the Western Mediterranean, which included stops in Italy, France and Spain. More than 1,143 guests had planned to end their cruise on Thursday at the port but were prevented from disembarking.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/world/europe/italy-coronavirus-cruise.html
Cruises have never appealed to me.
On edit: I wonder how many times this sick passenger went ashore along the Med coast? She would have gone to very crowded, public places.
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