Coronavirus Cases on Quarantined Cruise Ship Climb to 61
Posted on February 6, 2020
A quarantined cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, now has 61 confirmed cases of the Wuhan novel coronavirus. 41 new cases were confirmed today. The cruise ship is quarantined off Yokohama, Japan, which is south of Tokyo. These cases have been included Japan's total cases, which have climbed to 86. Japan has the highest case count outside of mainland China.The Japan Times reports that the latest 41 passengers who tested positive for the virus are being sent to several hospitals in Japan. The article says these people are not showing severe symptoms. Even without intensive care cases this is still a big burden to place on Japan's hospitals to keep these people in good health and make sure the virus does not spread to local hospital workers.
A total of 273 passengers with suspected exposure were tested by Japanese health officials. There are said to be nearly 3,700 passengers on the ship. The remaining people on the Diamond Princess will remain quarantined there for 14 days. It is not clear if there will any additional testing in the future.
A New York Times story says quarantined passengers are being allowed to get fresh air (while wearing masks) in small groups at a time. This will be a great relief to passengers - particularly any that are stuck in rooms without windows.
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