NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs is warning Americans to avoid traveling by cruise ship as COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe.

The department warned that citizens with underlying health conditions and older adults should avoid situations that put them at increased risk for more severe disease. 

In a memo posted on its website, the Department explains this warning, saying:

"Passengers with plans to travel by cruise ship should contact their cruise line companies directly for further information and continue to monitor the Travel.state.gov website and see the latest information from the CDC"

As over 100,000 people around the world report contracting novel coronavirus, the global community continues to reel from the impact of the virus.

World markets plunged after global oil prices took a nosedive due to coronavirus fears and Italy has locked down much of the country’s north and put one fourth of its population in quarantine in an attempt to curb the quick spread of the novel coronavirus.

Meanwhile, officials in California are preparing to receive thousands of people from a cruise ship that has been idling off the coast of San Francisco with at least 21 people aboard infected with the coronavirus.

Click here for the latest on the virus from the Centers for Disease Control.