Passengers have started to disembark Costa Smeralda in Civitavecchia in Italy after a feared case of coronavirus turned out not to be the diasease that has affected thousands of people in various countries.
"Six thousand people on board a cruise ship in Italy have been allowed to disembark after health officials said a Chinese passenger who had symptoms of coronavirus had tested negative," the BBC reports, referring to Costa Smeralda. The 54-year-old as well as her husband were held in isolation on the ship but tests confirmed she was not infected.
Genoa based Costa Crociere that owns the ship is part of the Carnival group and Costa Smeralda is the largest and newest vessel in the fleet of the Italian unit of the group. It was delivered from Meyer Turku in Finland in December and has a gross tonnage of 185,010.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a global health emergency.The death toll from the outbreak has risen to 170 in China.
"The Costa Smeralda cruise ship docked in the port of Civitavecchia, north of Rome. The woman who was suspected of being infected had reportedly flown from Hong Kong to join the cruise, and broke out in a fever while on board," the BBC said..
Yesterday, Daily Telegraph in London reported on its website: “Some 6,000 passengers have been banned from disembarking a cruise ship as tests are carried out on two Chinese passengers suspected of having coronavirus. The couple arrived in Italy on January 25 and boarded the ship, the Costa Smeralda, in the port of Savona that same day, a spokesman for the Costa Crociere cruise company said.
