Posted on Thursday, January 30, 2020 at 5:36 p.m.
A Costa cruise ship is stranded Thursday morning at the port of Civitavecchia, Italy, while two Chinese passengers show possible signs of coronavirus. The 7000 passengers (6000 tourists and 1000 crew members) cannot leave the ship pending the results of the samples taken from the two people.
–
–
According to Il Messagero, a 54-year-old Chinese woman has a high fever. She and her husband arrived in Malpensa from Italy on January 25, before embarking in Savona for the cruise.
This Thursday morning, the doctor on board informed the maritime health services which sent a doctor to examine the two people concerned. Samples were taken. During this time, the couple was locked in their cabin and all the passengers prevented from getting off the ground.
According to the port authorities, the situation should be resolved within the next few hours, when the results of the samples will be known.
“Of course, we are a little worried. Except for the doctors, nobody goes down and nobody goes up. It’s a trip that is likely to end like a nightmare, we hope to get out soon, “a passenger told Il Messagero.
Coronavirus negative tests
The first tests conducted on a Chinese couple among the 7,000 people stranded on a cruise ship in the port of Civitavecchia, near Rome, and presenting symptoms similar to the coronavirus “appear negative”, according to the Italian Ministry of Health.
“The first checks appear to give negative results, but we are awaiting the final test result,” a ministry source told AFP. The same source could not say when the final test result would be known.
Questioned earlier today by AFP, Spallanzani Roman hospital, which specializes in infectious diseases, said that “technicians” at the hospital “say it takes 48 hours to get the final result.”
Some 7,000 people were still stranded Thursday afternoon in the port of Civitavecchia on the Costa Smeralda of the shipowner Costa, although in the afternoon rumors filtered about the disembarkation of more than 1,100 passengers. The mayor of this coastal city had vehemently opposed this possibility.
“I have to protect the health of my fellow citizens. For the moment only luggage has been unloaded from the ship, not passengers. Test results from Spallanzani hospital are still pending, “said Ernesto Tedesco, mayor of Civitavecchia, in the afternoon.
“So far, all (suspected) cases analyzed have given negative results. The system (Italian health, note) is ready if there was any case of contagion to the new coronavirus, “said Thursday morning in the press before Silvio Brusaferro, president of the Higher Institute of Health.
– .
Related
