Cruise ship docks in Mexico after being turned away from other ports, awaits medical clearance

A cruise ship docked in a port in Cozumel, Mexico, Thursday after being turned away in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands over unconfirmed medical concerns, according to the Mexican newspaper El Universal.

According to Alejandra Aguirre, the MSC Meraviglia, which has more than 6,000 people on board, is docked on the Mexican coast, but no passengers will step foot on Mexican soil until international health officials arrive.

“In order to protect the community in Quintana Roo, we implemented health protocols for the Meraviglia cruise. The boat is located off the coast of Cozumel,” she said in a tweet. “So far the passengers have not disembarked. We will verify their health conditions.”

There are no cases of coronavirus confirmed aboard the ship, the cruise line noted Wednesday. Officials explained a crew member fell ill and was isolated from the time he began to show flu symptoms “out of precaution” and has now “nearly recovered.” 

There are currently more than 80,000 confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering. Though the majority of cases are centralized in China, the virus has spread to other parts of the world, with governments restricting travel in an effort to contain it. 

Mexico has yet to see a single confirmed case of the coronavirus within its borders. On Tuesday, Brazil confirmed the first case within Latin America. 

Italy has been the hardest-hit country in Europe from the virus, with authorities reporting 447 people infected across nine regions of the country.