They Hold Passengers On Cruise Ship In Italy Due To The Coronavirus

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

About 6,000 passengers are being held on a cruise ship in Italy as a precaution against the possibility that at least one of them suffers from the dreaded coronavirus, which has already been declared a global health emergency by the United Nations.

The Italian health authorities activated their security protocol when the vessel owned by the Costa Cruises line docked in the port of Civitavecchia, near Rome, after passing through the Spanish island of Mallorca.

According to CNBC, the ship's doctors detected a possible case of coronavirus in a 54-year-old Chinese woman, so the patient and her companion were placed in isolation on Wednesday.

"As soon as the alleged case was detected, the onboard medical team immediately activated all relevant health procedures to immediately isolate and manage the clinical condition," said a company spokesperson. "The health authorities have been notified and are on board to take the appropriate measures."

According to the media, the woman in question who presented the symptoms is from Macao, one of the first places to confirm cases of the virus, after Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak.

The cruise was scheduled to visit several Mediterranean ports during its seven-day journey, which has now been interrupted. Health authorities are reviewing the state of health of the 6,000 passengers and the thousand of crew on board. They are not allowed to disembark until it is determined whether the woman in question is a case of coronavirus.

To date, nearly 8,000 cases of coronavirus have been detected worldwide and about 170 patients have lost their lives. Most of the cases have been detected in China.