After thousands stranded at sea, coronavirus set to hit cruise industry
- Passengers on board the Diamond Princess, among them 260 Hongkongers, worry about the spread of infection
- Experts predict a coronavirus-related downturn in the trade over the coming months
Hongkonger Dr Lam Kwing-tong and his wife Lau So-kuen have not left their room on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship for more than a week, and are too scared to step out of it. And the closest the couple get to contact with the outside world is lingering on the private balcony of their stateroom
Because the ship, moored in Tokyo Bay, has become the largest single cluster of the deadly coronavirus outside mainland China.
Lam, a dentist in Hong Kong, is concerned about the way crew serve food and drinks, wheeling uncovered trolleys to the rooms of about 3,700 passengers three times a day. He says one crew member handed him a protective mask with their bare hands.
The couple have decided to consume only bottled water and cup noodles.
“I am really worried,” Dr Lam, 56, says. “They are treating the customers really well in terms of what they are providing; breakfast, lunch and dinner. But the problem is the way they cook and bring the food to us. You don’t need crew serving people with tea and coffee on a trolley – this is nonsense to me. It is not the way to treat the virus right now.”
