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CRUISE SHIP

Thousands of tourists confined to cruise ship in Italy over feared coronavirus cases

Over 6,000 tourists have been confined on a cruise ship off the coast of Italy on Thursday over fears of two suspected cases of the deadly coronavirus on board.

Published: 30 January 2020 12:46 CET
Thousands of tourists confined to cruise ship in Italy over feared coronavirus cases
Coastguards in front of the Costa Smerelda cruise ship in Civitavecchia port. Photo: AFP

The vast liner was placed on lockdown while two people were tested for the deadly coronavirus.

Samples from the two passengers, a Chinese couple, were sent for testing after three doctors and a nurse boarded the Costa Crociere ship in the port of Civitavecchia, north-west of Rome, to tend to a woman running a fever, local health authorities said.

READ ALSO: How concerned should you be about the coronavirus in Italy?

Costa Crociere confirmed that its Costa Smerelda ship, carrying some 7,000 people including the crew, was on lockdown.

It said it a 54-year old woman from Macau “was placed in solitary confinement in the on-board hospital last night with her travel companion”, and was following instructions from the health ministry.

The Costa Smeralda, the company's flagship and the fifth-largest cruise ship in the world, “came from Palma de Mallorca and is currently engaged in one-week cruises in the western Mediterranean,” it said.

The Costa Smerelda is the fifth-largest cruise ship in the world. File photo: Costa Press Office

It had been due to sail for La Spezia in north Italy late Thursday, but would be detained in the Civitavecchia port near Rome “until we have an update on the health tests,” said port captain Vincenzo Leone.

The couple flew in to Milan from Hong Kong on January 25, before getting on the cruise, according to Italian media reports.

One Italian passenger who said he was on board the ship near Civitavecchia tweeted at midday on Thursday: “We're blocked on board the Costa ship without knowing the (official) reason.”

“The couple's cabin has been isolated and they are in with the doctors,” an unnamed passenger was quoted as telling ANSA news agency.

“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”.

Silvio Brusaferro, president of the Italian national health institute, said that all suspected cases in Italy so far had turned out to be false alarms, but the health service was “ready should any cases of infection emerge”.

China reported its biggest single-day jump in novel coronavirus deaths on Thursday, as global fears deepened with at least 15 countries confirming infections.

The World Health Organization, which initially downplayed a disease that has now killed 170 in China, was preparing to meet Thursday to decide whether to declare it a global emergency.

 

 

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HEALTH

Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The World Health Organization's European office warned on Tuesday the risk of Covid-19 has not gone away, saying it was still responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths a week in the region. And the real figure may be much higher.

Published: 27 June 2023 13:27 CEST
Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The global health body on May 5 announced that the Covid-19 pandemic was no longer deemed a “global health emergency.”

“Whilst it may not be a global public health emergency, however, Covid-19 has not gone away,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told reporters.

The WHO’s European region comprises 53 countries, including several in central Asia.

“Close to 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths continue to occur across the region every week, and this is an underestimate due to a drop in countries regularly reporting Covid-19 deaths to WHO,” Kluge added, and urged authorities to ensure vaccination coverage of at least 70 percent for vulnerable groups.

Kluge also said estimates showed that one in 30, or some 36 million people, in the region had experienced so called “long Covid” in the last three years, which “remains a complex condition we still know very little about.”

“Unless we develop comprehensive diagnostics and treatment for long Covid, we will never truly recover from the pandemic,” Kluge said, encouraging more research in the area which he called an under-recognised condition.

Most countries in Europe have dropped all Covid safety restrictions but some face mask rules remain in place in certain countries in places like hospitals.

Although Spain announced this week that face masks will no longer be required in certain healthcare settings, including hospitals and pharmacies, with a couple of exceptions.

Sweden will from July 1st remove some of its remaining Covid recommendations for the public, including advice to stay home and avoid close contact with others if you’re ill or have Covid symptoms.

The health body also urged vigilance in the face of a resurgence of mpox, having recorded 22 new cases across the region in May, and the health impact of heat waves.

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