Authorities in Mauritius, on Sunday (Feb 25) stopped ‘Norwegian Dawn,’ a ship belonging to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings from docking at its port over fears of a potential cholera outbreak on board. However, officials in Port Louis gave the ship an all-clear after they found no evidence of the disease on board, on Monday (Feb 26).
Cholera scare on Norwegian Dawn
The port and health authorities in Mauritius confirmed that the passengers had gastroenteritis, not cholera. Port Louis, on Saturday (Feb 24), said that it blocked the ship “in order to avoid any health risks”.
The ship with more than 3,000 passengers and crew members was on a 12-day journey from Cape Town, South Africa to Port Louis. Around 15 people on board the Norwegian Dawn were in isolation with a stomach illness which the officials feared was cholera.
Health samples were collected from the 15 passengers with the suspected illness. The passengers in question were experiencing mild symptoms of a stomach-related illness during the ship’s trip to South Africa on February 13, said the United States-headquartered Norwegian Cruise Line, in a statement.
The director of the Mauritius Ministry of Health, Dr Bhooshun Ori, as per local media reports, later confirmed that the passengers were suffering from gastroenteritis and have now “fully recovered”.
In a press conference, Dr Ori said that since the results of the tests were negative, the ship should be able to dock in the coming hours.
What now?
“The health and safety of passengers as well as that of the country as a whole are of the utmost to the authorities,” Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings said in a statement, on Sunday.
It added, “We operate at the highest public health and sanitation standards, and encourage our guests to practice good hygiene and to report any illness-related symptoms to the onboard medical team immediately.”
The ship has 2,184 passengers and 1,026 crew members, as per Reuters. Officials in Mauritius said that they would provide medical assistance for all at the port after the passengers disembark.
Around 2,000 of these passengers were to disembark in Port Louis after completing their cruise while another 2,279 new passengers had been expected to board the ship, the port authority said, according to the news agency.
(With inputs from agencies)
