NORFOLK, Va. — More than 100 passengers sick with Norovirus are being treated on a cruise ship now quarantined in Norfolk. The Balmoral, a United Kingdom-based ship operated by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, is docked at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center, according to WTKR.
More than 150 of the ship’s 917 passengers reported having symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea.
One couple, who spoke with WTKR, said they contracted the virus earlier on the ship’s voyage. The couple said they were quarantined in their room for four days while they were sick.
According the CDC, crews on board the ship responded with the following actions:
- Increasing cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan
- Collecting stool specimens from passenger and crew gastrointestinal illness cases for testing
- Making multiple daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the VSP
- Sent public health and sanitation manager from the cruise line corporate office to oversee and assist with implementation of the sanitation and outbreak response procedures
This is a developing story.