The mayor of the Isle of Pines in New Caledonia says he is opposed to tomorrow's planned stop of a cruise ship because of the swine flu pandemic.
This comes as villagers in the north of the territory's main island refused to meet the passengers of an Australian cruise ship over the weekend.
Within the last ten days New Caledonia's number of people infected with the H1N1 virus has risen from two to 24, with all carriers having brought the illness from Australia.
The special isolation centre for swine flu sufferers set up in Noumea is now full which has prompted the authorities to care of new cases in their homes.
Last month, an Australian cruise ship was stopped from visiting Lifou after a swine flu scare in May.
