Roughly 6,000 Passengers Quarantined on Cruise Ship Offshore Due To Coronavirus

The Daily Mail is reporting that a cruise ship with 7,000 passengers and crew has been placed on lockdown amid coronavirus fears.  The ship has been placed on lockdown off the coast of Italy after a Chinese woman began exhibiting coronavirus symptoms.  Among the approximately 6,000 passengers on board, 751 are reported to be Chinese.  The virus is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China.

The woman and her husband are in solitary confinement as doctors evaluate and monitor them.  The symptomatic woman joined the cruise on January 25^th and the cruise was quarantined on January 30^th.   The woman notified appropriate ship personnel that she had a fever and respiratory problems.

This lockdown is occurring on the Costa Smeralda.

Vincenzo Leone, head of the Lazio coastguard, said: ‘We are waiting to know the outcome of the checks still in progress, but everything that needed to be done has been done.

‘The situation is under control and at the moment there is no reason for concern on board.’

No reason for concern?  Is this man joking?  If there was no reason for concern, there would not be a quarantine.  Clearly there is concern.  It is particularly scary since viruses seem to spread like wildfire in the confines of a cruise ship.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would be losing my freaking mind!  I’ll admit, I have taken two cruises in my life and I nearly lost my mind on both of them because I felt trapped at sea and in the teeny-tiny rooms.  That was on a typical cruise with zero problems.  Can you tell I’m a bit claustrophobic?

Although the cruise line is taking appropriate precautions, there are still going to be a lot of unhappy passengers.  Hopefully this woman does not have THE coronavirus and recovers completely.  It is unfortunate that what is likely a trip of a lifetime for many is ending like this.  Hopefully this quarantine is the worst of it and the virus does not spread.