A luxury cruise ship has been given permission to leave Sicily after 13 people onboard tested positive for Covid-19.
Ponant’s Le Jacques Cartier has been allowed by the French authorities to set sail to France this afternoon (October 30), with all passengers and crew members on board.
It had been on a cruise from the Maltese capital Valletta to the Greek capital Athens, with 72 passengers onboard. There are no British people on board and most passengers are French.
The first two positive cases were reported on October 25 and the ship remained in the port of Syracuse, Sicily, while PCR tests were carried out for all passengers and crew, according to the protocols of the cruise line and Italian authorities.
The 13 people who tested positive were immediately placed in isolation in their cabins, “under the sanitary supervision of the doctor on board” said the cruise line.
It said there was no concern from the Italian medical authorities and none of the people who had tested positive showed any critical symptoms.
The passengers and crew will disembark in France under the supervision of the French health authorities and the regional health agency of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
They will not have to be quarantined but antigen tests will be conducted on all those on board before disembarkation.
The statement from Ponant said the cruise line’s anti-Covid protocol has “proven its worth” since operations resumed four months ago.
“Ponant has successfully operated more than 60 cruises and carried 3,500 passengers. The company has continuously optimised the control of risks related to the Covid-19: this system has been continuously operated, tested and improved,” said the statement.