The cruise ship MSC Meraviglia which was turned away by two countries amid the coronavirus scare has been rejected by a third nation.
Mexico has revoked the cruise ship's permission to disembark its thousands of passengers after it was turned away by Jamaica and the Canary Islands, it has been reported.
A Filipino crew worker is understood to have fallen ill onboard and was said to had been in Manila within the last few days.
Mexican journalist Jose Luis Carrillo tweeted a picture of a letter he has seen from authorities in the port of Cozumel in Mexico, which shows the arrival of the ship was prohibited over coronavirus fears.
And Reuters has reported that the Mexican Port Authority has cancelled permission for the cruise ship to disembark in Cozumel. A port official confirmed it was over coronavirus fears.
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However, the cruise ship company involved – MSC Cruises – has disputed the reports, and spokesperson Luca Biondolillo tonight told Mirror Online that they have received authorisation to dock from the Mexican Ministry of health.
It is understood the Ministry of Health will board the ship and check medical records showing that the crew worker had been found to be suffering from common seasonal flu and that there was no-one on board suffering from coronavirus.
They will make the final decision – not the port authority.
MSC say this is what did not occur in Jamaica or the Canary Islands.
Mr Biondolillo said: “We just received formal authorisation from the relevant Mexican authorities that our ship is allowed into Cozumel.”
The spokesperson shared a copy of a certificate from the Mexican ministry of health.
An itinerary for the ship shows it was to be in international waters on February 28 but the next stop was to be the Bahamas, at Ocean Cay.
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Reports of the ship being denied permission to dock in Mexico came after MSC Cruises said earlier today they "expected" to be able to disembark passengers at the port of Cozumel.
MSC Cruises spokesman Robin Roothans said: "We are indeed en route to Cozumel, Mexico and are encouraged by the conversations we’ve had in past hours with the local authorities.
"Clearly, in light of the facts, and contrary to what happened in Jamaica and Grand Cayman we are confident our guests will be able to go ashore. We will follow any local protocol that applies.
"Regarding compensation: this is absolutely correct. We are offering a considerable compensation for every passenger. We think that’s only fair and the right thing to do."
It is not known precisely how many Brits are among the 4,500 passengers on board the ship.
The company had released a long statement early this afternoon saying it was "extremely disappointed" with Jamaican authorities and the ship was "effectively turned away simply based on fears."
They claimed: "Jamaican authorities yesterday delayed a decision for many hours to give our ship the necessary clearance to disembark guests, despite us having provided detailed medical records to the local health and national authorities ahead of its arrival as per normal protocol."
They added: "Similarly, the decision taken overnight by the Grand Cayman authorities to refuse disembarkation at Georgetown was made without even reviewing the ship’s medical records, which show one single case of common seasonal flu (type A influenza) affecting one crew member with a travel history clearly showing no passages through territories either affected by COVID-19 (Coronavirus) or subject to any international health restrictions.
"In both instances, the ship was effectively turned away simply based on fears."
Yesterday we reported how the 4,500-capacity ship had been in Ocho Rios in Jamaica since 9am in the morning after red flags were reportedly raised by health inspectors onboard.
Last night passenger Laura O'Neill said she had no idea what was going on until she read Mirror Online's story.
She told us: "We’ve just been told that we will be departing Ocho Rios since we are not being allowed entry.
"We have received no communication as to why we are not allowed off the boat except for announcements saying that we are waiting for officials to clear us.
"This has been going on since 9am with no additional communication from anyone on board. If it wasn’t for the article, I would have no clue as to what is actually going on."
Another woman on board said: "Before boarding in Miami our temperatures were taken to make sure.
Staff encourages us to clean our hands before entering buffet and restaurants areas. There are stations with disinfectant in every floor and main areas.
"The frustration was palpable amongst us passengers. We were looking forward to enjoying the beaches, the food and the culture."
MSC Cruises has been approached for further comment tonight.
In their statement released at 12.45pm today, they continued: "MSC Meraviglia is currently at sea on her way to Cozumel, Mexico, her next scheduled port of call.
"Ship’s command and Company’s management are in contact with local health authorities to ensure that their decision will be based on a factual review of the ship’s medical records, as well as consideration for the pre-embarkation screening and on board medical and deep sanitation protocols that are in place across MSC Cruises’ entire fleet.
"All MSC Meraviglia’s guests and crew have been screened individually upon embarkation, both in terms of their travel history as well as their health.
"MSC Cruises denies embarkation to anyone – crew and guest alike – who has travelled to, from or through mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, as well as to people who during the past 14 days have travelled to, from or through any of the municipalities that are subject to quarantine in central northern Italy.
"In addition to this, all MSC Cruises ships also conduct individual pre-boarding screening by thermal cameras to identify guests or crew members with signs or symptoms of illness such as fever (≥38 C°/100.4 F°) or feverishness, chills, cough or difficulty breathing. This will also result in denied embarkation.
"The crewmember who was diagnosed with common seasonal flu is in a stable condition, receiving anti-viral treatment and medication, and is now free of fever and nearly recovered.
"Out of precaution he was isolated from other crew members and guests from the moment that he showed symptoms and will remain so until he is fully recovered. No other cases of type A influenza have been reported on board MSC Meraviglia.
"Moreover, no cases of COVID-19 virus (Coronavirus) have been reported on board MSC Meraviglia or any other ship in MSC Cruises’ fleet."
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