TOKYO – At least 10 people on a cruise moored off the coast of Yokohama have tested positive for the new coronavirus, Japan’s Health Minister said on Wednesday (Feb 5).They are among 31 people whose test results have come in, out of 273 people who have been screened so far, Mr Katsunobu Kato told a news conference.There were 3,711 people on the Diamond Princess liner, comprising 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members from 56 countries and regions. Around 3,700 people are facing at least two weeks locked away on a cruise liner anchored off Yokohama port after health officials confirmed on Wednesday that 10 people on the ship had tested positive for coronavirus and more cases were possible. Image: A passenger was transferred from the ship under a blue sheet "We are very lucky not to be in one of the inside cabins. Cruises due to depart Yokohama and the western Japanese port of Kobe are cancelled due to delays related to the coronavirus checks, Carnival's Princess Cruises Japan said on Tuesday. The Diamond Princess cruise ship anchored off the shore of Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on ... forcing an onboard quarantine of 3,700 passengers and crew members in the port city of Yokohama. A two-week quarantine has left Masako Ishida and hundreds of others dealing with inconveniences and trying to figure out how to pass the time.TOKYO — Hidden away in her cabin, Masako Ishida reckons she doesn’t face much risk from the coronavirus that has stalked her cruise ship, forcing an onboard quarantine of 3,700 passengers and crew members in the port city of Yokohama.Ms. Ishida and her family enjoy cruises and had been especially looking forward to relaxing aboard the Diamond Princess as it wended its way from Yokohama to Kagoshima, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan and Okinawa.Now, instead of taking a dip in the freshwater pools or going on a “Chocolate Journey,” Ms. Ishida and her family are whiling away their time playing games on their tablets, reading, watching movies and speaking to family and friends using the ship’s now-free Wi-Fi.Judging by social media, other passengers trapped on board have had more difficult moments.The problem was resolved, he said, after staff members aboard the ship responded to a flood of emails expressing concern about his condition.Earlier that morning, he had been more optimistic.
In a previous case in Italy, 6,000 people were briefly isolated on board their vessel until two suspected cases of the new coronavirus tested negative.The current lockdown of the Diamond Princess comes after a former passenger, a 80-year-old Hong Kong man, tested positive for the coronavirus after he disembarked from the ship.He went to Shenzhen briefly on Jan 10 and returned to Hong Kong, from where he took a flight to Tokyo on Jan 17. The second reading was 35 degrees Celsius, or 95 Fahrenheit.“They didn’t put the thermometer into our ears properly,” Ms. Ishida said.She has also felt the chaos of the sudden quarantine at mealtimes. Ms. Ishida said she first learned that her two-week cruise might be extended not from the crew, but from an article she read online on Monday. They were being taken to hospitals.All 3,700 people on board received an initial health screening. But a log-in is still required for our PDFs.Share gift link below with your friends and family.They can read the article in full after signing up for a free account.Please verify your e-mail to continue reading the article.The gift link for this subscriber-only article has expired.Get unlimited access to The Straits Times and more at S$ 0.99/month.You have reached your limit of subscriber-only articles this month All rights reserved We have been experiencing some problems with subscriber log-ins and apologise for the inconvenience caused. The Diamond Princess returned to Yokohama on Monday via the ports of Chan May and Halong Bay in Vietnam, Keelung in Taiwan and Naha in Okinawa. Ishida asked them to retake it. At the port of Yokohama, Japanese authorities immediately quarantined the ship while the 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members were screened for the virus.
It will return to port on Thursday to take on food and other supplies as it carries on with the two-week quarantine, which covers the incubation period of the coronavirus.Ms. That report said a man from Hong Kong who had disembarked from the ship, the Diamond Princess, in his home city on Jan. 25 had tested positive for the virus.When she asked some crew members about it, they confirmed the news, she said. Image: The ship is anchored off Yokohama port . A small boat is pictured next to the Diamond Princess cruise ship with over 3,000 people as it sits anchored in quarantine off the port of Yokohama, on Feb 4, 2020, a day after it arrived with passengers feeling ill.A man in a proctective clothing is seen on the sixth deck of cruise ship Diamond Princess in Yokohama, in this Feb 4, 2020, photo obtained from social media.In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia contentGet access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Last year, there were 188 port calls by passenger cruise ships at the Port of Yokohama.Japanese health officials are testing people on board the liner with symptoms such as fever or cough, as well as those who have been in close contact with sick patients. About 30 crew members have reported symptoms of cough and fever, and the ship was denied entry into Taiwan’s Kaoshiung port on Tuesday.The cases exemplify fears of how the confined spaces of a cruise ship – where passengers intermingle in common areas – could well catalyse the spread of a virus. The last time she went on a cruise, she said, everyone caught the flu.Trapped on a Cruise Ship by the Coronavirus: When Is Breakfast?The Diamond Princess cruise ship anchored off the shore of Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Wednesday.Officials in masks and protective clothing on one of the decks of the Diamond Princess cruise ship.Twitter Handle @Daxa_Tw/Agence France-Presse - via Getty ImagesOfficials in protective clothing in Yokohama Tuesday escorting a person, under the blue sheet, who was on board the ship and who tested positive for the coronavirus.