Mauritius authorities gave passengers choice of quarantine or return to Italy.

An Alitalia flight which departed Rome with 300 people on board was grounded this morning at the airport on Mauritius, the island in the Indian Ocean, according to Italian newspaper of record Corriere della Sera.

Amid fears of contagion from the Coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, local authorities reportedly told passengers that they had two choices: either be placed in quarantine at one of two hospitals in the island's capital Port Louis, or return immediately to Italy, without disembarking.

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Corriere della Sera reported that - after carrying out medical screening - Mauritius authorities eventually allowed passengers who were not from the Coronavirus-hit regions of Lombardy and Veneto to disembark, without being required to go into quarantine.

Italy's foreign ministry is reportedly in talks with Mauritius authorities to resolve the situation and allow the remaining 70 passengers from Lombardy and Veneto to disembark.

Photo Corriere della Sera