SPECIAL arrangements are being put in place to take home sick passengers from the virus-hit ship Aurora when she docks in Southampton tomorrow.

P&O Cruises have been working closely with the city's Port Health Authority who will be going on board the ship as soon as she docks tomorrow morning to meet with the ship's medical experts.

Residents in Southampton have been reassured there is no risk of the highly-contagious norovirus spreading into the city.

The Port Health Authority has been receiving daily reports on the situation from the ship to prepare for her arrival in Southampton after its 17-day cruise.

Latest figures show that just two or three of the 500 people first affected are still showing symptoms of the bug, which include vomiting and diarrhoea.

P&O Cruises will ensure they are able to get home safely and comfortably, while the rest of the passengers will disembark as normal.

Dr Mike Barker, Southampton's communicable diseases expert, said: "We will treat it in the way that we normally treat a situation like this.

"One of the medical team will go on to the ship with the port health officers and meet up with a medical officer on board.

"If anyone is still showing symptoms we will have to make sure that there are arrangements for getting them home - you wouldn't wish them to be using public transport."

Dr Barker added he was not worried about an outbreak of the disease in the city.

He said: "There is no risk of it spreading. This is something which is quite a regular illness on the mainland anyway.

"There are cases in the community all the time. People have a nasty attack and it goes after one or two days, but when you get that happening in a nursing home, a hospital or a cruise ship the virus is able to spread very much more quickly."