Coronavirus: most passengers on Australia cruise ship near Antarctica test positive

The Greg Mortimer departed on a voyage to Antarctica on March 15 to retrace the steps of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton, who died there in 1922

Of 217 people tested on the vessel, 128 were positive for the virus that causes the Covid-19 disease and 89 tested negative

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Australian cruise ship Greg Mortimer, bottom, pictured off the port of Montevideo on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:42am, 8 Apr 2020Updated: 11:42am, 8 Apr 2020

Nearly 60 per cent of 217 people – many from Australia, Europe and the United States – on board a cruise ship off the coast of Uruguay have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the ship’s operator said Tuesday.

“There are currently no fevers on board and all are asymptomatic,” said Aurora Expeditions, the Australian operator of the Greg Mortimer ship that is working to disembark the crew and passengers and arrange flights to their home countries.

The Greg Mortimer departed March 15 on a voyage to Antarctica and South Georgia that was titled “In Shackleton’s Footsteps”, a reference to the polar explorer who led British expeditions to the region and died there in 1922.

Of 217 people tested on the vessel, 128 were positive for the virus that causes the Covid-2019 disease and 89 tested negative, Aurora Expeditions said.

A 75-year-old Australian passenger of the Greg Mortimer cruise liner is loaded into an ambulance in Montevideo on Friday. Photo: AFP

Another six people who were evacuated from the ship are in stable condition and being treated in Montevideo.