A cruise ship carrying more than 3,700 is stuck in a Japanese port. 10 people on board just got tested positive for coronavirus.
- Ten people a Japanese cruise ship that has been quarantined near Tokyo since Monday have tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus.
- Medics started screening all 3,711 onboard on Tuesday. Nobody can leave the ship for the next 14 days.
- The ten infected people, who are all over 50 years old, were taken into isolation at a nearby hospital on the Japanese mainland.
- They include two Australians, three Japanese, three Hong Kong citizens, one American, and one Filipino.
- The Diamond Princess was quarantined because a passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong on January 25 tested positive for the virus on January 31.
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Ten passengers onboard a cruise ship quarantined in Japan have tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus.
The Diamond Princess arrived in Yokohama on Monday after a round trip to Hong Kong.
It was immediately quarantined upon arrival in Japan after an 80-year-old man who disembarked on January 25 in Hong Kong tested positive for the virus, which spreads from human to human.
Medics began examining all 3,711 passengers and crew who remained on the ship on Tuesday, with around 300 specifically screened for the novel coronavirus. It's not entirely clear why those 300 were singled out.
As of Wednesday, ten people had so far tested positive for the virus, Japanese state broadcaster NHK reported, citing the health ministry.
The ten patients, all aged over 50, include two Australians, three Japanese, three Hong Kong people, one American, and one Filipino, cruise operator Princess Cruises said in a press release.
The Japanese Coast Guard has taken them all to an isolation clinic at a nearby hospital on the Japanese mainland, NHK reported.
A total of 120 people onboard the ship, including the patients, had shown symptoms of the virus during initial checks, NHK said. Symptoms include fevers and coughing.
One hundred and fifty-three other people were tested because they had come into close contact with those showing symptoms.
Authorities have quarantined the ship for the next 14 days, Japan's health ministry said, according to NHK. That means nobody can leave it for the next two weeks.
Princess Cruises say they've given guests free WiFi and telephones to stay in touch with their families. It's not clear if other onboard activities are still available. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the casino, shops, and photo studio, have been shut, and photos shared by a passenger on board showed the rooftop pool deserted.
Last week Italian authorities quarantined a cruise ship carrying more than 6,000 people at Civitavecchia, Italy, amid fears that two passengers had the coronavirus. They were released on January 31.
The coronavirus has hit the travel industry hard as multiple airlines canceled flights to mainland China, and countries advised against visiting there. Shares of airlines, hotels, and cruise lines have been trading lower since the virus began.
The coronavirus has killed 492 people and infected more than 23,000 across 26 countries since it broke out in Wuhan in early December.
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