Huge liner remains on lockdown though preliminary tests on two passengers suggest they are not carrying virus

This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

More than 6,000 people were still on board a cruise ship in the Italian port city of Civitavecchia late on Thursday after the liner was placed on lockdown over fears two Chinese passengers could be carrying the coronavirus.

Preliminary tests on the pair suggested they were not carrying the virus, the ministry of health said, although definitive results could take up to 48 hours.

In the meantime, Ernesto Tedesco, the mayor of Civitavecchia, a city north of Rome, has asked that passengers on the Costa Smeralda, among them 66 Britons, be disembarked only when the results are definitive.

Earlier in the day there were chaotic scenes as Tedesco confronted the harbour master, Vincenzo Leone, after Leone told journalists he had been given the go-ahead to disembark 1,140 passengers who were at the end of their trip.

Q&A How can I protect myself and others from the coronavirus outbreak? Show Hide The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine. The UN agency advises people to: Frequently wash their hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or warm water and soap

Cover their mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue when sneezing or coughing

Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever or cough

Seek early medical help if they have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share their travel history with healthcare providers

Advice about face masks varies. Wearing them while out and about may offer some protection against both spreading and catching the virus via coughs and sneezes, but it is not a cast-iron guarantee of protection Many countries are now enforcing or recommending curfews or lockdowns. Check with your local authorities for up-to-date information about the situation in your area. In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days. If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.

Tedesco pulled up in a Fiat 500, driven by his spokesperson, and yelled out of the window: “Are you mad? Who gave you the order to disembark? I’ll take you all to court. If you let just one person off, you do so at your own risk.”

Tedesco’s spokesperson said on Thursday night: “We don’t have the authority to stop the disembarkation but we ask that they wait for the response from the hospital. It’s a matter of precaution for everyone.”

The cruise ship passengers were reportedly given back their room keys, so it is unlikely they will disembark overnight.

Doctors at Rome’s Lazzaro Spallanzani national institute for infectious diseases were examining samples taken from a woman from Macau who fell ill with a fever as well as her husband. Samples were sent for testing after three doctors and a nurse boarded the Costa Smeralda to tend the woman.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The vessel at the port of Civitavecchia. Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters

The 54-year-old woman was put into isolation overnight in a hospital ward on the ship. Her husband, who did not have any symptoms, was also quarantined.

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

The couple flew into Milan from Hong Kong on Saturday before getting on the cruise, according to Italian media reports.

The vessel had come from Palma, Mallorca, and stopped at Civitavecchia, a city close to Rome, as part of a week-long cruise of the Mediterranean.

An unnamed passenger was quoted as telling the Ansa news agency: “The couple’s cabin has been isolated and they are in with the doctors. We’re a bit worried of course. No one is getting on or off the ship apart from the doctors. This holiday risks ending in a nightmare.”

A Chinese man was also taken to the Spallanzani on Wednesday night after coming down with a fever in a hotel in central Rome.

The Italian government is preparing to fly around 60 Italians home from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus broke out. The group will then be quarantined in a military facility for two weeks.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report