Protesters threw rocks and bottles as they tried to stop a cruise ship docking at their idyllic Indian Ocean island — even though there was no known coronavirus threat, according to reports.

The Sun Princess, flying a British flag and carrying 2,000 passengers, had already been refused entry to Madagascar because it had recently been to Thailand, which has had dozens of confirmed cases of the virus.

At least 30 protesters — many hurling stones and drink containers — then met the ship early Sunday when it docked in Réunion, a French territory off the coast of Africa, according to Agence France-Presse.

Police eventually used tear gas to push back the protests, AFP said, citing the local newspaper Imaz Press Réunion. Videos on social media also showed fires breaking out during violent clashes.

“Some passengers were very distressed,” Rod Pascoe, 67, who was on the seven-week cruise, told the New Zealand Herald. “People feared for their safety.”

While there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 on the ship, locals said they were terrified that passengers could inadvertently bring the deadly virus to their island, having previously been in Thailand.

“We don’t know if these people are sick, they were not tested. It is very dangerous,” protester Yannis Latchimy told AFP of the virus, which has a 14-day incubation period.

“We just want to be sure that there is no risk of the coronavirus propagating.”

Many of the passengers — mostly from Australia and New Zealand — eventually made it onto the island with a population of just under 900,000, officials said.

However, the ship left later that day after local officials said they could not guarantee passengers’ safety, AFP said.

It was heading to Mauritius, but officials withdrew permission for it to dock late Sunday, according to the Herald.

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“It’s just unfortunate — when we left Australia, this global fear hadn’t been really developed,” Pascoe told the paper. “It’s completely overshadowed the whole journey.”