6,000 people trapped aboard cruise ship in coronavirus scare, reports say
UPDATE: Italian health officials diagnosed the passenger with the common flu and not coronavirus. The ship will be continuing its voyage Friday night
A cruise ship is holding a reported 6,000 people aboard after one passenger showed symptoms of Wuhan coronavirus.
On Wednesday night, a 54-year-old Chinese national and her travel mate were put in isolation aboard Costa Cruises’ Costa Smeralda when they showed symptoms of the virus, the cruise line said. Costa Cruises is a subsidiary of Miami-based Carnival Corp.
The ship was on a seven-day Mediterranean excursion traveling to Civitavecchia, La Spezia, Savona, Marseille, Barcelona and Palma de Maiorca.
Health officials are aboard the ship and monitoring the situation, the cruise line said.
The ship can hold 5,000 to 6,000 passengers and about 1,500 crew. Costa Cruises did not immediately respond to a request for information about how many people are on board. CNN reported that there are about 6,000 people aboard the ship.
Italian news agency Agenzia ANSA reported that first tests did not show the virus.
There are five confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. so far, but none of them are in Florida. Miami International Airport is screening travelers for potential cases with the help of federal health officials.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 10:40 AM with the headline "6,000 people trapped aboard cruise ship in coronavirus scare, reports say."
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