French authorities on Wednesday allowed asymptomatic passengers to disembark from the British cruise ship Ambition, docked in the port of Bordeaux, after dozens of passengers showed symptoms of gastroenteritis. The more than 1,700 people were kept on board for emergency checks, France 24 reports.
The Ambition ship was quarantined after a norovirus outbreak PHOTO X
The decision comes after a 92-year-old British passenger died and 50 passengers complained of digestive symptoms.
In an update on Wednesday evening, health authorities in Bordeaux said the results of the samples taken confirmed an outbreak of norovirus, which is transmitted from person to person. No severe cases of illness have been reported.
“Competent French health authorities have given the vessel the go-ahead to continue normal operations,” the Essex-based cruise line said, according to the BBC, adding that enhanced sanitary measures and medical monitoring and isolation procedures are still in place
The tests carried out confirmed that the illnesses on the Ambition vessel were caused by a “gastrointestinal infection of viral origin”. Local authorities and the regional health agency said asymptomatic people can leave the ship. Instead, infected passengers must remain in isolation on the cruise ship.
Officials have shed light on the 92-year-old's death, which sparked concerns about the symptoms of other passengers. It appears that he actually suffered a heart attack and his death was not related to the gastroenteritis outbreak.
“At this time, no connection to the episode of gastroenteritis has been established,” they stated.
As of Monday, about 80 people on the ship had “symptoms specific to an acute digestive infection.” Authorities said the containment measures were taken “out of an abundance of caution” to avoid panic and speculation in the context of the current hantavirus outbreak that is in the center of international attention.
The Ambition, operated by the British company Ambassador Cruise Line, arrived in Bordeaux on Tuesday with 1,233 passengers, mostly from Britain and Ireland, and 514 crew on board.
What passengers say
Seos Guilidhe, a 52-year-old passenger from Belfast, told AFP the atmosphere on board was relaxed, at least as far as he was concerned. “We are following additional hygiene rules. It is not as bad as it was during the Covid period. People are continuing their normal activities,” he said, adding that he was even participating as he personally was playing a board game.
Healthy passengers were seen taking pictures from the deck.
Guilidhe later wrote to journalists in an SMS: “We were allowed to get off the ship, the restrictions were lifted.”
Others were not as lucky.
“Sharing a cabin, both infected, is a real challenge,” wrote a sick passenger on Facebook.
A large number of passengers aboard the Ambition showed symptoms on Monday while the ship was docked in Brest, officials said.
The 92-year-old man died before the cruise ship arrived in port in the Brittany region of northwestern France.
The ship departed the Shetland Islands on May 6 and called in Belfast and Liverpool before arriving in France. According to the cruise line, the number of cases of illness increased after passengers boarded from Liverpool.
