Cruise passengers must be evacuated as soon as their ship is hit by coronavirus rather than quarantined on board and risking the contagion seen on the Diamond Princess off Japan, a study has found.
Researchers claim earlier evacuation of the ship could have prevented many infections. The study comes as passengers and crew on its sister ship the Grand Princess - including more than 140 Britons - wait off California to find out if they are to be quarantined at a US port while each one is tested. The findings are likely to put pressure on the US authorities as they decide whether to evacuate or maintain a quarantine on board.
Last month more than 600 people on the Diamond Princess became infected. But researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) estimate that an immediate evacuation would have meant only 76 people infected.
There was criticism of the quarantine measures, with some experts saying not enough was done to isolate passengers and set up sterile zones.
Researchers said the quarantine measures taken - such as confining passengers to their rooms - had some impact, estimating that if none had been in place 2920 people would have been infected.