Carnival cruise ship in Italy lockdown after Macau passenger has symptoms

A cruise ship owned by Carnival Corp. was blocked from leaving an Italian port with some 7,000 people on board, after a passenger reportedly from Macau came down with symptoms that raised concerns about a possible case of coronavirus.

Carnival’s Italian unit Costa Crociere SpA said that a 54-year-old woman from Macau is currently in isolation on board its Costa Smeralda cruise ship in the port of Civitavecchia, near Rome.

A medical team from a Rome hospital examined the patient, who demonstrated fever and respiratory symptoms, this morning, according to the Italian Coast Guard. Further operations on the ship “will be decided later,” a Coast Guard spokesman said.

The Costa Smeralda case could mark the first case of a cruise ship being affected by the coronavirus. Cruise vessels, where passengers are in close contact over extended periods of time, are particularly susceptible to outbreaks and spreads of viruses. It would also be the first confirmed case of the disease in Italy.

Carnival Corp. shares fell as much as 11% in London and traded down 6.7% at 12:52 p.m. local time.

“As soon as the suspected case emerged, medical staff onboard immediately activated the necessary health procedures,” Costa Crociere said in a statement. “Our priority is to guarantee the health and safety of our guests and team.”

Italian media reported that passengers were protesting the lockdown of the ship and lack of information via Twitter.

The ship was bound for La Spezia in the Liguria region, with 1,000 crew and 6,000 passengers, 750 of whom came from China, a port spokesman said.

The incident Thursday brought back memories of the 2012 disaster involving Carnival’s Costa Concordia cruise ship, which capsized near the Tuscan coast, killing 32 people.

MDT/Bloomberg