Covid: Cunard Queen Elizabeth cruise crew members test positive for virus

Cunard said a "small number" of crew had tested positive on board the Queen Elizabeth

Crew members on board the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship have tested positive for coronavirus, operator Cunard has confirmed.

The vessel is currently moored off the Dorset coast and is due to take paying passengers on a cruise in a fortnight.

Cunard said a "small number" of crew had tested positive and it had put in place "approved isolation protocols".

The company is due to restart UK cruises after suspending all sailings in March 2020.

Cunard said: "We have comprehensive health and wellbeing procedures in place to protect all on board, which have been developed with guidance from our global medical, public health and industry experts and in close coordination with Government departments.".

About 800 crew members are currently on board.

Queen Elizabeth's next scheduled cruise is a trip to Cornwall departing Southampton on 19 July.

It is the first of its "staycation cruises" around the coast of the UK scheduled for this summer.

Cunard suspended holiday voyages when the pandemic struck in March 2020.

Currently cruises around the British Isles are permitted but international cruises have not been allowed to resume yet.