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Hundreds of 'acutely ill' passengers were rushed off a cruise ship after a Norovirus outbreak onboard.

Some people who had been on the Norwegian Joy were evaluated by paramedics after the 16-day cruise that left Florida stopped at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro.

Those seeking medical attention disembarked the docked cruise ship and are being evaluated by paramedics of the Los Angeles Fire Department, reports NBC Los Angeles.

Some sick passengers are being screened separately from the rest of the disembarking passengers, according to reports on social media.

Peter Krajewski, who had been onboard, tweeted: "Just got off the Norwegian Joy in the port of Los Angeles.

Were you on board? Have you been affected by this story? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk

"Our ship had been dealing with a Norovirus outbreak the last couple days, but none of the passengers suspected that it was as bad as it was.

"Apparently hundreds of people were acutely ill on the ship."

A statement from the Los Angeles Fire Department said: "LAFD personnel continue to examine "several persons who have been ill" while aboard the currently docked cruise ship, which is disembarking passengers.

"A yet to be determined number of those ill passengers desiring further medical assessment or ambulance transport are still being evaluated on shore by LAFD Paramedics.

"No patients are currently displaying life-threatening symptoms."

The Norwegian Joy has a guest capacity of 3,804 passengers and was refurbished earlier this year after being built in 2017.

It also has 1,821 crew, according to the Norwegian Cruise line website.

A spokeswoman for Norwegian Cruise Line told Mirror Online: “The safety, security and well-being of our guests and crew is our number one priority.

"As such, we operate at the very highest public health standards.

"During Norwegian Joy’s Panama Canal sailing, a few guests on board experienced a stomach related illness.

"To mitigate any impact of this rare occurrence, we implemented stringent sanitation procedures.

"As always, we will continue to monitor this situation.”