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Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton
A megaliner was on Tuesday denied access to the Ocho Rios Cruise Terminal in St. Ann after it was discovered that a crew member was in isolation.
A statement from the Health Ministry said the crew member has a history of travelling to a country with cases of the coronavirus.
The Health Ministry said the crew member had a cough, fever and muscle pains.
Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton told Radio Jamaica News that health officials discovered that the crew member was in isolation while inspecting the vessel.
He said the team was concerned that about the lack of information on the crew member prior to the ship arriving in Jamaican waters and so decided not to allow the other passengers not to disembark "out of an abundance of caution" and "to do what is necessary to protect our population."
The cruise ship had more than 4,500 passengers and more than 1,600 crew members.
Iran
In the meantime, Iran's coronavirus death toll rose to 16 on Tuesday, the highest outside China, increasing its international isolation as dozens of countries from South Korea to Italy accelerated emergency measures to curb the epidemic's global spread.
Believed to come from wildlife in Wuhan city late last year, the flu-like disease has infected 80,000 people and killed 2,663 in China.
But the World Health Organization says the epidemic there has peaked and has been declining since February 2.
However, beyond mainland China, it has jumped to about 29 countries and territories, with three dozen deaths.
Growing outbreaks in Iran, Italy and South Korea are of particular concern.
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