Coronavirus: crew member from Italian cruise liner taken to Limassol hospital

A member of the crew of an Italian cruise ship suspected of suffering from the coronavirus was taken from the vessel to Limassol hospital after the ship docked in the harbour at 3am on Tuesday.

The Costa Diadema which has a capacity of carrying nearly 5,000 passengers is travelling only with staff as it has suspended all cruises until the end of April.

Some of the crew are suspected of having the virus. One of them had serious complications and sought help from the Cypriot authorities.

He was picked up by boat and taken to Limassol hospital.

The Costa Diadema, which started its journey from the United Arab Emirates and reached the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal departed immediately for its final destination, Italy.

According to ‘Cruise News’ website, crew members on the Costa Diadema indicated that the ship was sailing back to Savona from Dubai without passengers aboard.

“They are expressing alarm that Costa is taking the ship to Italy due to the high rate of infection in Italy,” the website said. Crew members on this ship who are at the end of their contracts were not permitted to disembark while the ship was in Dubai. Meanwhile, there are crew members who have tested positive with coronavirus on the ship.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.