Fears of Coronavirus Causes Cruise Ship Lockdown

Passengers aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Italy have been placed on lockdown as a result of a coronavirus scare aboard the ship.

The passengers are traveling aboard the Costa Smeralda and were prevented from disembarking from the ship after it arrived at the Italian port city of Civitavecchia.

Authorities identified a woman passenger aboard the ship who they believe may have been infected with coronavirus, causing the lockdown of the approximately 6,000 passengers and 1,000 crew. 

Earlier this week authorities reviewed passengers on another Costa ship, the Venezia, after it arrived at Shenzhen, China. There, authorities identified approximately 150 people who may have been exposed to coronavirus.

The epicenter of the coronavirus contagion is in Wuhan, China. To date, thousands of people have been infected with the virus, and over 200 people have died.