P & O Cruises reported GI Norovirus outbreak onboard their cruise ship Oriana. On December 4th the ship left Southampton on ten night Baltic voyage and in the middle of the cruise six passengers got sick with Gastrointestinal symptoms ( vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. This highly contagious virus spreads fast in a closed environment and in order to prevent from spreading among others, crew are assigned additional duties for sanitizing ships surfaces with bleach and microbak.  

P & O spokesperson said “Enhanced sanitation protocols have already been implemented to help minimize transmission to other passengers. These comprehensive disinfection protocols have been developed by P&O Cruises in conjunction with U.K. and U.S. public health authorities.”

“The safety and comfort of passengers and crew is always our number one priority. As is currently standard procedure across our fleet, all the ship’s passengers were provided with a precautionary health notice advising of widespread Norovirus activity and the health measures to avoid contraction and spread, both on board and whilst ashore.”
P & O Oriana is scheduled to return to Southampton on Thursday December 13th.