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Agence France-Presse

Reuters

At least 61 people on board a cruise ship off Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the government said on Friday, as thousands of passengers and crew face a two-week quarantine.
An additional 41 passengers were found to have contracted the virus, which has killed hundreds of people, most of them in China, and infected more than 30,000 on the mainland.


Japanese authorities have so far tested 273 people on board the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined after a former passenger, who disembarked in Hong Kong last month, was diagnosed with the virus.
“The results of the remaining 171 tests came out and 41 tested positive,” Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters.

“Today they will be sent to hospitals in several prefectures, and we are now preparing for that.”
The newly diagnosed include 21 Japanese, as well as Americans, Canadians, Australians, an Argentine and a Briton.
There were more than 3,700 passengers and crew on the ship when it arrived off Japan’s coast on Monday evening. It docked in Yokohama on Thursday to resupply for a quarantine that could last until February 19.

Twenty people who were earlier diagnosed with the virus have already been removed from the vessel, including one in serious condition, a health ministry official said, without providing further details.
Testing was initially carried out on those who displayed symptoms or had come into close contact with the former passenger diagnosed with the virus.
But Kato suggested testing would now be expanded to those “who are susceptible to illness, including elderly people and those with other ailments, as well as those who had close contact with the people newly diagnosed with the virus.”
There were no immediate details on how many people would meet those criteria or when the testing might take place.
Coronavirus: Thais urged to make their own masks, sanitisers due to shortage
Japan has already reported at least 25 cases of coronavirus aside from the infections on board the ship, and evacuated hundreds of citizens from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus emerged, including on a fourth flight on Friday.
Passengers on the ship have been asked to stay inside their cabins to prevent new infections, and have expressed confusion and frustration about a quarantine expected to last until February 19.
American lawyer Matt Smith, 57, and his wife Katherine, are among the luckier passengers, in a suite with their own balcony. But he said that the 14-day quarantine was a “hard pill to swallow.”
“My thought is, the greater number they diagnose on the ship, the greater chance they’re going to find some reason to extend the quarantine,” he added.


Passengers in windowless inside cabins have been allowed onto open decks only briefly, under strict conditions, including wearing a mask at all times.
“The quarantine officials require that you avoid congregating in large groups and maintain a separation of at least one metre (three feet) from each other when talking,” the ship’s captain said in an announcement on Friday morning.
“We require that you wear as a minimum, warm clothing, hat and a scarf if possible,” he added.
Crew wear masks and gloves when they deliver meals, Smith said, and on Friday thermometers were distributed to passengers, who were asked to notify staff of temperatures over 37.5 Celsius (99.5 Fahrenheit).
While some passengers have reportedly urged their governments to intervene, Smith said he understood the measures.
“The Japanese government is going to do what it can to prevent this virus, just as the US is doing in its borders,” he said.
A second cruise ship carrying a passenger suspected of infection with the new virus is headed towards Japan, and authorities said they would ask it to avoid docking.
Holland America Line, which operates the Westerdam, said there were “no known cases of coronavirus on board” and stressed that the ship was not in quarantine.
“We are quickly working to develop alternate plans and are keeping guests updated on board as information becomes available,” the firm said in a statement.
Four other ships are scheduled to arrive in Japan this month, and would also be asked to turn back if infections are reported on board, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.




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Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus: 41 new cases confirmed on Diamond Princess cruise ship, bringing total to 61

The Diamond Princess cruise ship has been kept in quarantine at the port of Yokohama in Japan since Monday. Photo: Xinhua

General view of a cabin of the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where passengers are being quarantined due to coronavirus suspicions onboard, in Yokohama, Japan February 6, 2020, in this picture obtained from social media. Sawyer Smith/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

Personnel clad in protective gears and tasked to provide care for suspected patients on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, prepare to carry out patients at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama on February 6, 2020 after bringing patients from the ship. - Ten more people on a cruise ship off Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus, local media said, raising the number of infections detected on the boat to 20. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / JIJI PRESS / AFP)

Coronavirus: how a luxury cruise became ‘a floating prison’ during quarantine in Japan

The Diamond Princess cruise ship is docked at the port of Yokohama in Japan. Photo: Xinhua

Food is pictured on a table at the cruise ship Diamond Princess, as passengers are being quarantined due to coronavirus suspicions onboard, in Yokohama, Japan February 6, 2020, in this picture obtained from social media. Sawyer Smith/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

(200206) -- YOKOHAMA, Feb. 6, 2020 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on Feb. 6, 2020 shows the "Diamond Princess", a cruise ship which has been kept in quarantine at the port of Yokohama in Japan. Test results show that nine passengers and a crew member on a cruise ship quarantined off the coast in Japan are infected with the novel coronavirus, the Japanese health ministry said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

The cruise ship Diamond Princess is docked in Yokohama on Feb. 6, 2020, for replenishment of food and other supplies. The vessel is being kept in quarantine after the detection of new coronavirus infections among people aboard. (Kyodo)==Kyodo

The Diamond Princess cruise ship with over 3,000 people on board arrives at Yokohama port on February 6. Photo: AFP

Coronavirus: 20 infected, thousands quarantined on Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan

Passengers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship wave to the media. Photo: AFP

Officers in protective gear escort a person (under the blue sheet) who was on board cruise ship Diamond Princess and was tested positive for coronavirus, after the person is transferred to a maritime police base in Yokohama, south of Tokyo in this photo taken by Kyodo February 4, 2020. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

The cruise ship Diamond Princess approaches the port of Yokohama on Feb. 6, 2020, to restock food and other supplies. The vessel has been kept in quarantine to prevent a new coronavirus from spreading in Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Coronavirus: 10 passengers stuck on Diamond Princess cruise ship infected, raising Japan tally to 35

Some 3,700 passengers and crew are on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Photo: EPA-EFE

Some 3,700 passengers and crew are on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Photo: AFP

Coronavirus: outbreak has stoked a rise in xenophobia, Chinese living abroad say

Social media campaigns like “JeNeSuisPasUnVirus” (“I am not a virus”), a hashtag originated by Asians in France to combat xenophobia, have emerged in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Twitter

epa08191690 A view of a mural referring to the coronavirus outbreak that was created by the street artist Laika near Piazza Vittorio in the Chinese district of Rome, Italy, 04 February 2020. The artwork represents an Asian woman wearing a white overall and a facemask, who says 'There is an epidemic of ignorance around ...... We must protect ourselves.' The figure also holds a sign reading '#JeNeSuisPaSunVirus' (lit.: I'm not a virus), a hashtag created by French Asians in reaction to anti-Asian racism amid the coronavirus emergency, reports state. EPA-EFE/Alessandra Magliaro

‘Made in China’: how Wuhan coronavirus spread anti-Chinese racism like a disease through Asia

A video by Chinese social media influencer Wang Mengyun, in which she tries bat soup, has been held up by some as evidence of ‘disgusting’ Chinese eating habits – even though the video was shot in Palau. Photo: Sohu

A security is pictured outside the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Whole Sale Market in Wuhan city, central China's Hubei province, on Jan. 04, 2020. Unexplained pneumonia cases out broke from the the market in the city since the end of 2019, and up to Friday, Jan. 3, 44 patients were received and 11 in critical condition. 04JAN20 SCMP/Simon Song

Passengers arriving from Guangzhou, China, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. The Philippines has stopped issuing visas on arrival to all Chinese nationals. Photo: EPA

Singapore National Development Minister Lawrence Wong(L) meets Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on May 15th 2019.

News

Asia

East Asia


The new cases raise the number of confirmed infections on board the ship to at least 61, says Japan’s health minister
A second ship carrying a passenger suspected of infection with the virus is headed towards Japan, and the vessel will not be allowed to dock



The new cases raise the number of confirmed infections on board the ship to at least 61, says Japan’s health minister.


Disease

Japan

Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

Coronavirus: 41 new cases confirmed on Diamond Princess cruise ship, bringing total to 61

The new cases raise the number of confirmed infections on board the ship to at least 61, says Japan’s health minister A second ship carrying a passenger suspected of infection with the virus is headed towards Japan, and the vessel will not be allowed to dock

The new cases raise the number of confirmed infections on board the ship to at least 61, says Japan’s health minister

A second ship carrying a passenger suspected of infection with the virus is headed towards Japan, and the vessel will not be allowed to dock