CRUISE carrying 2,300 passengers in lockdown off the coast of Greece after previous tourist tests positive for coronavirus

By Tony Winterburn • Published: 05 Mar 2020 • 9:19

2000 passengers in quarantine on the MSC Opera off the coast of Greece after Coronavirus scare

A CRUISE ship has been quarantined off the coast of Greece after a previous tourist on the ship tested positive for coronavirus.

Some 2,300 passengers – including 39 Britons – have been told to remain on the MSC Opera after being urgently called back from excursions which they were told was due to a “security problem”.

The tourist, from Austria, travelled on board the cruise liner last week before departing in Genoa, Italy, it wasn’t until after he disembarked and began showing symptoms, that he tested positive for the deadly bug.

A letter to passengers from Captain Pietro Esposito read: “I have just learned – and I wanted you to know straight away – that we have been contacted by the Austrian Health Authorities who have informed us that a previous passenger who sailed with us last week on MSC Opera, has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

“The male passenger, of Austrian nationality, disembarked from MSC Opera in Genoa, Italy, on Friday morning 28 February, and is currently back in Austria.

“To be clear: this person is not on board.”

The captain added: “All passengers and crew are requested to remain on board until we have further clarity on the matter.”

“Please note there is no reason for concern. We have no indication that suggests there may be an issue currently on board MSC Opera and there are no cases that suggest there may be a case of COVID-19.”

The news comes after a number of cruise ships have been quarantined due to coronavirus fears in the past two months.

The Diamond Princess was put on lockdown just off the port of Yokohama last month, and there have now been more than 700 confirmed cases of coronavirus stemming from the ship.