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Around 7000 people on board an Italian cruise ship have been allowed to disembark after health officials said a Chinese passenger who reflected symptoms of coronavirus had tested negative.
The 54-year-old, along with her husband, was kept in isolation on the ship, but tests showed that she was not infected.
Some 6,000 passengers and 1,000 crew members were held on the cruise ship over concerns that the ill passenger could be infected with the coronavirus.
“Sanitary protocol” had been triggered on the ship operated by Costa Cruises. The Costa Smeralda cruise ship docked north of Rome at the Civitavecchia port on Thursday morning, where it had sailed from Palma in the Mallorca.
The passenger suspected of being infected came from Hong Kong to join the cruise and broke out in a fever while on board.
The health minister of Italy said samples were referred to Spallanzani Hospital—a Romanian hospital that specializes in infectious diseases—and returned negative.
“While we appreciate the cause for the inconvenience, the procedures were taken, and our cooperation with the Health Authorities remained effective in dealing with the situation and were intended to guarantee maximum safety for all our passengers, crew and the community as a whole,” Costa Cruises stated in its statement, confirming the passenger had the common flu.
The Associated Press reported that health officials screened all the members aboard the ship and asked them not to leave until the final reports of the medical tests arrived.
In a separate development, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte confirmed the first two coronavirus cases in the country, involving two tourists from China. After the infection confirmation, all flights between Italy and China were suspended.
Meanwhile, the WHO (World Health Organization) declared the virus a global health emergency, with the death toll climbing to over 170 in China.
The Costa Smeralda was on a seven-day route with various stops projected in ports across the West Mediterranean. The officials said the ship would remain in Civitavecchia until Friday before leaving for Savona and starting its program again.
The cruise ship incident happened at a time when already 9,000 cases of coronavirus were reported in China, with at least 200 deaths. The majority of those cases are in mainland China.
So far, more than 100 cases have been reported outside of China in countries such as Thailand, Japan, France, India, and the United States.