Ten People Have Tested Positive For Coronavirus On Quarantined Cruise Ship

Ten people have tested positive for coronavirus on a quarantined cruise ship docked in the Japanese port of Yokohama.

Screening of the 3,700 passengers and crew onboard the Diamond Princess began on Monday evening, with 273 people singled out for further testing.

PA

The 10 infected people include two Australian guests, three Japanese guests, three guests from Hong Kong, and one guest from the United States, in addition to one Filipino crew member, a spokesman for Princess Cruises confirmed to the Daily Mail.

All 10 cases are reportedly in those aged between their 50s and their 80s, according to the Guardian.

The testing began after an 80-year-old man from Hong Kong who had been on the ship last month fell ill with the virus.

Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said at a press conference that the thousands of remaining passengers would remain on the ship for 14 days while testing continues.

He said: "I want to take sufficient care of the health of passengers and crew and make every effort to prevent the spread of the virus.

"We had them [the ones who tested positive] get off the vessel and... we are sending them to medical organisations."

PA

The new cases bring the total number of confirmed cases to 33 in Japan.

In China, there are now at least 24,300 confirmed cases of the virus, with the death toll at 491.

Speaking in a Facebook video, British passenger David Abel explained what the situation was like onboard the ship.

He said: "We are now officially in quarantine. It appears that our quarantine is onboard the ship, that we will not be taken off to a hospital.

"The 10 people that are affected, they are being taken off very soon by the local coastguard into a medical facility. We are to remain onboard the ship and we are confined to our cabins.

"Nobody is able to book onward flights as we have no idea when the quarantine will clear.

"The whole ship is in quarantine, we are in the middle of the bay, anchored, so nobody can get on or off this ship.

"Staff are constantly cleaning and sanitising public areas such as handrails and door handles. Passengers are requested not to use public toilets unless in emergency."

Topics: World News, Coronavirus, Japan

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey