INTERNATIONAL: The German operator of a cruise ship that has been stuck in Lisbon's port due to an outbreak of the coronavirus among its crew has pulled the plug on the voyage on Sunday after some passengers have tested positive, port authorities have announced.

The AIDAnova, with 2,844 passengers and 1,353 crew onboard have docked in Lisbon on December 29 while en route to the island of Madeira for New Year's Eve celebrations, but was unable to continue the journey after 52 cases of COVID-19 were detected among the fully-vaccinated crew. The passengers would be transported home by air, he added, without specifying when. The company, AIDA Cruises, which is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation.

The crew who had tested positive between Wednesday and Friday, were transferred to Lisbon hotels and were in isolation there.

On Thursday, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised people to avoid traveling on cruise ships regardless of their vaccination status.The move has delivered another blow to the industry that only returned to the seas in June after a months-long suspension of voyages caused by the pandemic.