Nearly 70 British tourists were among 7,000 passengers and crew stuck on a cruise ship in an Italian port on Thursday evening, as doctors carried out tests on a Chinese couple whom it was feared may have contracted the coronavirus.

The 66 British passengers were expected to spend a tense night on board the huge Costa Smeralda ship as Italian experts waited for the results of the tests.

Medical sources said that it was “unlikely” that the couple from Macau had the potentially deadly virus but all precautions were being taken.

The ship was put on lockdown when it was noticed that the 54-year-old wife was suffering from a fever and breathing difficulties.

Authorities said passengers and crew would be held on the vessel, which is docked in the port of Civitavecchia north of Rome, until the all-clear was officially given.

That could take up to 48 hours, according to the doctors from the Lazzaro Spallanzani national institute for infectious diseases, who were conducting the tests.