An Italian cruise ship has been denied
permission to dock in both Thailand and Malaysia, despite there being no
evidence of coronavirus on board the ship.
The
Costa Fortuna tried to stop at Phuket in Thailand last week, but was turned
back, representatives Costa, the cruise line, said on Twitter .
It
attempted to stop in Penang, northern Malaysia, only to be turned away a second
time, according ANSA, an Italian news wire .
Nobody
on board the ship has tested positive for the virus, or is suspected to be
carrying it, according to Costa.
The
cruise ship ended up on the wrong side of new rules in Thailand and Malaysia
put into place shortly before it was due to arrive.
Thai
officials turned the ship away because it was carrying passengers who left
Italy less than two weeks ago.
Even
though none have symptoms, they blocked them in case they were still incubating
the virus without symptoms, a process which health experts believe can last up
to 14 days.
In
Malaysia, officials took a harsher stance and blocked all cruise ships from
docking, regardless of who was on board.
Cruise
travel has become a nightmare for many, as their narrow confines have proved in
some cases an ideal breeding ground for the coronavirus.
Off
the coast of Japan, the Diamond Princess was ravaged by the disease, recording
at least 600 cases among its passengers and crew, six of whom died.
A
second ship operated by the same company, the Grand Princess, was as of early
Saturday stuck in limbo off the coast of California, with 21 confirmed cases of
the virus on board.
President
Donald Trump said he doesn’t want to bring them to land to be treated because
then they would be added to the official tally of US infections.