Cruise passengers were temporarily quarantined after docking in Greece due to a case of coronavirus.

Holidaymakers on the MSC Opera were kept on board the vessel on Wednesday after a former passenger tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.

The Austrian national had stayed on the ship during a two-week East Mediterranean cruise in February before travelling through northern Italy, which is facing Europe's biggest outbreak.

MSC Cruises said it was informed by Austrian health officials on Wednesday that the former passenger had been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The company said it contacted Greek health authorities after the MSC Opera, which can carry more than 3,300 passengers and crew, arrived in the port city of Piraeus.


A spokesman for MSC Cruises told Sky News: "We requested at the same time that passengers, as a precautionary measure, remained on board while awaiting guidance from the local authorities."

The company said it handed over the ship's full medical records and the medical and travel history of the former passenger who has COVID-19 to Greek authorities.

Image: MSC Cruises said passengers were kept on board 'as a precaution'. File pic

It added that Greek health officials had since given permission to MSC Opera to sail from Piraeus and continue its journey to its next scheduled port in Corfu.

"No additional health measures were required to be taken and the ship is currently sailing as planned," the spokesman said.

"There are no passengers or crew members currently on board the ship who have reported any flu-like symptoms.

"The health and safety of our passengers and crew will always remain our top priority."

The ship is due to arrive in Corfu at 11am GMT, MSC Cruises said.

The incident comes after more than 3,700 passengers and crew spent nearly a month in quarantine on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan due to coronavirus.

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A British man in his 70s who was on board the ship died from the virus - the first UK fatality of the global outbreak.

Last year four people were injured after the MSC Opera crashed into a tourist river boat on a busy canal in Venice.