Around 4,000 people let off cruise ship in Lisbon after COVID outbreak

OVIEDO, Spain

Around 4,000 people were let off a cruise ship in Lisbon on Monday after a COVID-19 outbreak cut the journey short, according to local media.

The AIDAnova ship, mostly carrying German passengers, had been held up since Dec. 29 in the Lisbon port.

Between Wednesday and Friday, 52 crew members tested positive for the coronavirus.

By Monday, 68 people, including some passengers, have been infected, according to Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Everyone infected has mild to no symptoms, according to the cruise ship company. Most have been taken to hotels in Lisbon to isolate, while the rest will remain on the ship.

All the other crew and passengers have tested negative for the virus and are being taken to the airport to return home.

Passengers were set to visit the Portuguese island of Madeira for New Year’s Eve celebrations and continue their journey to Spain’s Canary Islands.

The ship took off from Hamburg on Dec. 22 and was decked out as a “winter wonderland for the holiday season,” according to a press release by the cruise ship company AIDA Cruises.

For days after the outbreak, the company was debating whether or not to continue the voyage but announced on Sunday that it would be canceled.

The cancelation also affects passengers who were set to catch a cruise taking off from the Canary Islands this week.

The AIDAnova cruise ship also made history by being the first cruise ship in the world fully powered by liquefied natural gas.