Eight passengers catch coronavirus on Costa cruise

Itinerary was cut short after France declared state of health emergency

Costa Diadema (Wikimedia/Z Thomas)

A cruise in the Mediterranean was cut short after eight passengers tested positive for coronavirus.

The contained outbreak occurred onboard the Costa Diadema, which set off from Genoa on 28 September and finished its voyage on 12 October, before commencing a second sailing with many of the same passengers onboard.

On the first sailing, seven travellers tested positive for Covid-19 after excursions to the Greek islands, and had to self-isolate onboard before leaving the ship at Palermo on 10 October.

Although asymptomatic, they all tested positive again once on shore.

The ship finished its original itinerary, with stops at Sardinia and Civitavecchia near Rome, before setting off for a second sailing on 12 October.

However, a new contact tracing technology being piloted by Costa identified another passenger who could be infected.

The 78-year-old man also tested positive for Covid-19.

“They disembarked one other passenger at a port of call who had symptoms. That was in Naples,” a spokesperson for Carnival Corporation, the company that owns Costa Cruises, told USA Today.  

“All the guests were tested after that before they came into Genoa.”

The second man was hospitalised in Naples, according to local media; it is unclear what his condition is now.  

The Diadema had been chartered by a French company and all passengers onboard were French nationals.

The decision was made to end the second sailing 10 days early, on 16 October, after French President Emmanuel Macron reinstated the country's state of health emergency.

“Based on the epidemiological situation in France and the new limitations introduced by the French government on 14 October, we took the decision to anticipate the end of the cruise,” said a Costa Cruises spokesperson.

“The responsible choice was taken in order to allow a safe return of passengers to their country.”  

Before the recent outbreak, Costa Cruises, which resumed operations with three ships on 6 September, had not reported a single Covid-19 case on any of its sailings.

The company remains positive despite the infections, saying it is confident in its coronavirus protocols and heavy use of testing.

“It's part of the protocol that has been developed specifically for these situations,”  said a spokesperson.

The Independent has contacted Carnival for comment.