Coronavirus: Cruise ship quarantined at Yokohama now has 135 confirmed cases, including eight Canadians
As the crisis worsens, some passengers took to social media to warn against depression over their confinement on the ship
Passengers wait in their cabins on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship at Daikoku Pier where it is being resupplied and newly diagnosed coronavirus cases taken for treatment as it remains in quarantine after a number of the 3,700 people on board were diagnosed with coronavirus, on February 10, 2020 in Yokohama, Japan.Carl Court/Getty Images
The Canadian Press and
Reuters
February 10, 2020
8:58 AM EST
YOKOHAMA, Japan — Princess Cruises says a Canadian is among an additional 65 confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in the Japanese port city of Yokohama, just outside Tokyo.
The Diamond Princess was placed in quarantine for two weeks upon arriving in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Feb. 3, after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus.
About 3,700 people are aboard the ship, which usually has a crew of 1,100 and a passenger capacity of 2,670. Passengers have been allowed on decks in shifts to get fresh air and encouraged to regularly take their temperature.
The latest figures take the infected tally on board to 135, showing a rapid rise in the outbreak. Also among the new cases are 45 Japanese and 11 Americans, the ship’s operator, Princess Cruises, said in a statement. This latest case raises to eight the number of Canadians aboard the Diamond Princess who have contracted the new virus.
The company says in a release issued early Monday morning that the positive test results were confirmed by the Japanese Ministry of Health and that it is following the ministry’s “disembarkation protocols to provide medical care for these new cases.”
The other seven were earlier taken to Japanese hospitals for treatment and monitoring.
The federal government said Sunday that it was monitoring the well-being of 285 Canadians quarantined on the Diamond Princess and another cruise ship anchored off Hong Kong.
Japanese military personnel set up a covered walkway next to the Diamond Princess cruise ship, with around 3,600 people quarantined onboard due to fears of the new coronavirus, at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama port on February 10, 2020. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images
Meanwhile, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said in a statement Sunday that none of the 213 evacuees from Wuhan, China — the epicentre of the outbreak — who are quarantined at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ont., have exhibited any symptoms of the virus.
As the crisis worsens, some passengers took to social media to warn against depression over their confinement on the cruise ship.
“This is not news that anyone of us wanted to receive,” the captain told passengers in a broadcast over speakers in their cabins.
“However, we have been also advised since we are in the early quarantine period of 14 days, it was not unexpected.”
The captain’s remarks formed part of an audio recording about the 66 new cases posted on Twitter by Yardley Wong, a passenger documenting the experience on the ship, using the hashtag #anxiety.
In a subsequent announcement, however, the captain told passengers he had been advised to correct the figure of new infections to 65 from 66, according to audio recordings posted by passengers.
Japan’s health ministry confirmed the 65 cases in a statement. Reuters could not immediately contact the cruise operator to seek comment on the change.
“Lots of the passengers now are getting a bit of cabin fever,” British passenger David Able said in a video posted on Facebook. “Depression is starting to set in.”
Another said he hoped assurances about the effectiveness of quarantine and ventilation on board would prove true.
“I will get nervous if we pass 200,” said the 43-year-old Hong Kong resident quarantined on the boat with his wife, child and several of his family.
“Hoping best for those taken to hospital. At least two report back to us on Facebook that they are symptom free,” added the man, who declined to be identified.
People who have been in close contact with newly confirmed cases on the ship face a longer quarantine than the originally planned period until Feb. 19, the World Health Organization said late on Sunday, without saying how many there were.
Japan’s health ministry is recording infection counts on the ship and evacuee flights from China separately from the official tally. Domestic cases stand at 21.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Japan would send a fifth chartered flight to China’s central city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, to bring citizens home.
The disease has killed 908 people, chiefly in mainland China, and infected more than 40,000.
The U.K.-flagged Diamond Princess is managed by Princess Cruise Lines, one of the world’s largest cruise lines and a unit of Carnival Corp.
As the crisis worsens, some passengers took to social media to warn against depression over their confinement on the ship
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