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Norwegian Dawn cruise ship allowed to dock in Mauritius after tests show no cholera aboard

  • Mauritius blocked the ship from docking on Sunday over ‘health risks’, without elaborating
  • Sick passengers who had been isolated had mild cases of the viral infection gastroenteritis

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The Norwegian Dawn cruise ship. File photo: Reuters

A US-owned luxury cruise ship with more than 3,000 passengers and crew was allowed to dock on Monday in the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius after being quarantined offshore for a day over fears of a possible cholera outbreak on board, authorities said.

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The Mauritius government cleared the Norwegian Dawn, which is owned and run by the Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line company, to dock at the harbour in the capital, Port Louis, after health officials found no traces of cholera in tests conducted on the ship’s water.

Mauritius authorities blocked the ship from docking on Sunday because 15 people on board were ill with vomiting and diarrhoea. The Mauritius Ports Authority said it took the decision “in order to avoid any health risks”, and sent officials aboard to collect samples to test.

The Mauritius government said the sick passengers who had been isolated after falling ill in fact had mild cases of the viral infection gastroenteritis.

The Norwegian Dawn. File photo: The Boston Herald via AP
The Norwegian Dawn. File photo: The Boston Herald via AP

Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement that there were “a small number of guests experiencing mild symptoms of a stomach-related illness” and there were “no confirmed cases nor any evidence of cholera.”

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The Mauritius government “required testing in an overabundance of caution,” it added.

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