A cruise ship flagged in the US is understood to be carrying a number of Irish citizens, as well as 21 confirmed coronavirus cases, has been given permission to dock, with its passengers to disembark in Oakland on Monday.
According to RTE News, nineteen crew members and two American passengers are confirmed as having the virus on board the Grand Princess - out of 45 people tested.
(Afloat adds last month a sister of the 'Grand' class cruise ship, Diamond Princess docked in Japan from where British and Irish passengers were evacuated to the UK for quarantine).
The department of Foreign Affairs has said the consulate in San Francisco is in touch with local authorities and monitoring the situation closely.
Authorities have ordered the vessel to remain at sea off the coast of San Francisco, where it was due to dock yesterday following a 14-day trip to Hawaii, after it emerged that a passenger on a previous voyage had contracted the virus and later died.
The vessel will instead go to nearby Oakland on Monday and begin disembarking passengers in need of "acute medical treatment," vessel owner Princess Cruises said in a statement.
The ship's crew will be quarantined and treated aboard the ship, the company added.
For more including details of another cruise ship effected by the outbreak and more click here.
