Cruise ship quarantined in Japanese port of Yokohama with at least 20 confirmed cases of coronavirus - UPDATE

RT
Thu, 06 Feb 2020 00:17 UTC

© Twitter / @daxa_tw

Ten additional passengers aboard a cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan have tested positive for coronavirus, just one day after 10 others on the vessel were confirmed to have the illness.

Around 3,700 people face at least two weeks of quarantine aboard the cruise ship - the Diamond Princess, now docked at the port of Yokohama - as health screenings continue. Those with symptoms have been moved to medical facilities for treatment.

Only a fraction of the ship's passengers have undergone tests so far, making it unclear whether more cases will be detected, with 10 of the 71 test results received on Thursday coming back positive.

The new infections on the locked-down cruise ship bring the total number of cases in Japan to 45, among 28,000 confirmed cases worldwide, most of them in China's Hubei province, where the outbreak originated. Nearly 600 people have died from the virus.

The first infection aboard the Diamond Princess involved an elderly man from Hong Kong who tested positive for the novel coronavirus after he disembarked from the ship in late January, stoking fears that other passengers may have been exposed to the illness, which can spread from person-to-person.

Frightening first-hand accounts - as well as photos and videos - from passengers on the quarantined ship have emerged online, with one noting they could hear "painful coughs" of others aboard the vessel in nearby rooms. "Of course I'm worried about myself, but I'm afraid for the crews who are carrying meals and cleaning rooms,"said the passenger, who has remained anonymous.

As the disease toll continues to climb, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe signaled earlier this week that the country could expand travel restrictions on foreign nationals who have visited China recently, with the PM noting "the situation is changing by the minute" and that officials were "open-minded on what measures to take."

Comment: RT reports that as of February 5th, China confirmed a fatality count of 564 from the virus. With total confirmed cases nearing 28K, the majority of them in Hubei, China is expanding its quarantine efforts, having locked down dozens of cities and placing travel restrictions on tens of millions of citizens across several provinces. Despite reports of breakthrough treatments, the WHO has downplayed the reports, claiming there are 'no known effective therapeutics'.

See also:

• The Chinese coronavirus outbreak is not the zombie apocalypse
• Russian ministry of health identifies trio of existing drugs that can fight new Chinese coronavirus

Update 07/02/2020:

Infections aboard the ship have now tripled to 61:

Dozens of additional passengers aboard a cruise liner in Japan have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections on the ship to 61 as 3,700 people remain trapped on the quarantined vessel.

Stuck at the port of Yokohama since earlier this week, the ship's 3,700 passengers and crew face weeks of quarantine as medical workers test for signs of the deadly contagion. The ship is now like a "floating prison," one passenger said on social media, where haunting images have emerged showing its abandoned halls, once bustling with activity.

Of the thousands of passengers on board, 273 have shown symptoms of illness, such as cough and fever, or came in contact with those who have. All of those passengers have now been tested, Japan's Health Ministry said, noting the 41 new patients will be transferred to medical facilities in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Shizuoka prefectures, as well as Kanagawa.

It remains unclear whether additional cases could arise on the ship, as the novel coronavirus has been found to spread person-to-person, even among those not yet showing symptoms, with a long incubation period. Some passengers already expressed fear that they could eventually end up stuck on the vessel for much longer than 14 days if new infections occur.