Irish among 1,700 confined to cruise ship in France after suspected norovirus outbreak

Any link with the hantavirus outbreak that led to the deaths of three passengers onboard the Hondius cruise ship has been ruled out. File picture AP

French authorities have confined more than 1,700 people — mostly British and Irish tourists — on board a cruise ship in Bordeaux following the death of one passenger and a suspected outbreak of norovirus.

Carrying 1,233 passengers and about 514 crew members, the ship departed from the Shetland Islands on May 6 and stopped in Belfast, Liverpool, and Brest before arriving in Bordeaux on Tuesday.