Updated at 6:45pm with MSC Cruises statement

The cruise liner that went into self-quarantine after a former passenger contracted coronavirus will not be entering Valletta's port after an agreement was reached between the government and MSC Cruises, a government statement said.

However, the government claimed its decision was based on what it described as "public alarm raised by misleading information given by a local media outlet through a story riddled with partial truths and erroneous details".

MaltaToday was the first media outlet to break the news of MSC Opera's re-routing to Malta after it went into self-quarantine while in Greece.

However, throughout the day, the Medical Association of Malta and the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses raised alarm and insisted they would order industrial action if the ship was allowed to berth.

"The Government of Malta and MSC Cruises have reached a mutual agreement that, exclusively on the occasion of today, cruise liner MSC Opera will not enter Malta's port... It is pertinent to note that according to information received by the government and medical reviews and clearances granted by other foreign ports the ship has visited, there is no case of coronavirus on board the MSC Opera which was planned to enter Malta," the government statement read.

To avoid further concern among the Maltese public, the government and MSC Cruises decided to re-route the MSC Opera on this occasion.

According to MAM President Martin Balzan, the health authorities in Malta did not want the ship to berth but there was political pressure to allow it in. Balzan had questioned whether the ship's crew were tested in the wake of the case that had been flagged by the Austrian authorities of a former passenger who was diagnosed with coronavirus.

None of these claims and questions have been denied or answered by the Maltese authorities.

MSC Cruises reacts

Meanwhile, MSC Cruises said that the ship will now re-route to Messina in Sicily, where it will berth as scheduled on Sunday.

The company said MSC Opera was cleared by the health authorities in each port that it called prior to today.

"MSC Cruises has agreed to deviate the course of MSC Opera to support the wish of the local authorities and avoid unnecessary public unrest... There are no passengers or crew members currently on board the ship who have or have had any flu-like symptoms. The health and safety of our passengers and crew will always remain our top priority," MSC said.

Earlier

Nurses joined doctors to warn of industrial action if the Maltese authorities allow the cruise ship MSC Opera to enter Valletta.

As at 4:25pm shipping website Marine Finder showed that the cruise liner was still on course towards Valletta.

Attempts to get a reply from the Maltese authorities on whether a decision has been taken on the ship have so far proved futile.

Paul Pace, president of the Malta Union of Nurses and Midwives, said it was "madness" for the authorities to even entertain the idea of allowing this ship to enter Valletta.

The MUMN said it would be ready to take industrial action if the ship entered port.

Martin Balzan, president of the Medial Association of Malta, warned of industrial action if MSC Opera was allowed to enter.

The Maltese health authorities are mulling whether to deny the cruise ship entry into Valletta after it temporarily went into self-quarantine when a former passenger contracted the coronavirus.

Balzan reserved harsh words for the authorities, claiming that "there is political pressure to overrule a decision taken by the health authorities to stop the ship from coming to Malta".

Balzan told MaltaToday that Malta did not have the capacity to handle an epidemic of that magnitude if anybody of the people on board the cruise liner had the coronavirus.

"This morning at 7:30am I messaged Prof. Charmaine Gauci [Superintendent of Public Health] and she told me that after reviewing all the documentation she had refused entry to the ship. However, senior sources in government have told me that political pressure is being applied to allow the ship to come to Malta," Balzan alleged.

He said there was no way that the health system could cope with such a crisis, given the amount of passengers and crew on board.

"The passenger who contracted the coronavirus may have been on the ship last week but what about the crew? Have they all been tested? It will be irresponsible to allow the ship to dock and if it does MAM will order industrial action to protect Maltese patients," Balzan said.

The ship, MSC Opera is scheduled to make a stopover in Malta on Saturday after its normal route was disrupted by Turkey's decision to block all cruise ships from docking in its ports. The ship went into temporary self-quarantine in Greece but was given the all-clear by Greek health authorities to continue its journey without restrictions.

The ship sailed into Corfu but has now left port and is due in Malta at around 6pm.

The Austrian passenger who contracted Covid-19 had disembarked last week and was diagnosed back home.

READ ALSO: Cruise liner headed for Malta carrying out voluntary quarantine in Greece

The self-quarantine ordered by the ship’s captain was a precautionary measure until health authorities gave him the all-clear.

It became apparent yesterday that the MSC Opera was going to make an unscheduled stop in Malta, a situation that has been met by widespread criticism locally.

MaltaToday understands that the Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci is in talks with various entities in Malta, including the port authorities, and a decision as to whether to deny entry is expected later today. Gauci’s decision will be final.

MUMN's Paul Pace said any decision to allow the ship to dock will be a "clear sign that the authorities prioritise the economy above health". "This is not on and the MUMN is wholely unsatisfied with Malta's coronavirus preparations. Nurses and doctors do not have access to coveralls and the union will seriously consider taking action over the weekend unless the situation is remedied," Pace said.

MSC Opera says all passengers allowed to disembark in Corfu

The cruise ship said in a statement on Thursday that all passengers were allowed to disembark when it docked as scheduled at the port of Corfu, in Greece.

The MSC Cruises’ ship has 1,579 passengers and 723 crew onboard, a total of 2,302.

"At no time have passengers or crew been quarantined and all were able to freely make use of the ship’s facilities and restaurants before it departed yesterday from Piraeus in Greece for Corfu," the statement read.

Health officials in Corfu earlier boarded the ship after it berthed, a common maritime practice, to review the ship’s full medical records and as was the case yesterday in Piraeus. They deemed the vessel needed no further health measures beyond the ship’s existing strict preventative health measures.

Greek authorities yesterday in the port of Piraeus completed an assessment of the vessel and gave it permission to sail to Corfu. Passengers and crew remained onboard the ship yesterday for three hours while officials conducted a review of the vessel’s full medical records.

"There is no reported illness today, nor yesterday, among any of the 2,302 passengers and crew," the statement read.