Cruise ship passengers cleared to leave ship after norovirus outbreak sickens dozens

Passengers onboard a cruise ship that had a norovirus outbreak have been allowed to leave the ship.

All 1,700 people onboard Ambition were prevented from disembarking for more than 24 hours after it docked in Bordeaux, France, on Tuesday (May 12) as one person died and dozens became ill with a vomiting virus.

The person who died was a 92-year-old British man who suffered a heart attack. His death appeared to be unrelated to the norovirus outbreak, health authorities said.

Local authorities allowed asymptomatic people to disembark from Wednesday afternoon (May 13), while those who had been infected were ordered to remain onboard in isolation. It's unclear when they'll be allowed to leave the vessel.

Norovirus is a highly contagious form of gastroenteritis that causes vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms of the virus include vomiting, muscle pain, stomach cramps, and low-grade fever.

1,700 people onboard a cruise ship were placed in isolation earlier this week (Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP via Getty Images)

The ship set sail from Belfast on May 8 and called at Liverpool a day later, for a 14-night voyage to France and Spain. Cases of gastroenteritis then arose following the embarkation of passengers in Liverpool.

It's said that around 50 passengers have fallen sick with norovirus, according to The New York Times.

While dozens have fallen unwell, there have been no 'serious cases' reported.

Ambassador Cruise Line has said in a statement when news broke of the outbreak: "We would like to reassure guests that we take any illnesses aboard our fleet extremely seriously.

"Enhanced sanitation and prevention protocols were immediately implemented across the ship in line with established public health procedures following the initial reports of illness."

Those showing signs of norovirus reportedly have to stay in isolation (Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP via Getty Images)

The statement went on: "The comprehensive health and safety measures introduced include increased cleaning and disinfection measures in public areas, assisted service in selected dining venues and ongoing guidance to guests regarding hand hygiene, including regular hand washing, use of hand sanitisers and the prompt reporting of any symptoms to the onboard medical team."

One passenger, Seos Guilidhe, 52, from Belfast, told news agency AFP he was 'playing bingo' during the lockdown, and 'it is not as bad as it was during Covid'.

He added that people were 'going about as normal'.

The ship set sail from Belfast on May 8 (Yasin Demirci/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Elsewhere, a spokesman for the cruise line assured there was no link with the outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius amid concerns of another global pandemic.

Three people died on the Dutch cruise ship and several others have since started presenting symptoms of the Andes strain of hantavirus.

It's suspected that 'patient zero' contracted the virus before boarding the ship.