- Sixty-one people on a Japanese cruise ship have tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus, days after the ship was first quarantined on Monday.
- Medics started screening all 3,711 people aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship on Tuesday. Passengers are currently enduring a 14-day quarantine that began earlier in the week.
- The quarantine began after a passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong on January 25 tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
- Nine passengers and one crew member later also tested positive for the virus. They were taken into isolation at a nearby hospital on the Japanese mainland.
- Ten more people tested positive on Thursday local time, and 41 more cases were confirmed Friday.
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Sixty-one passengers aboard a cruise ship quarantined in Japan have tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus, the Japanese Health Ministry said.
The Diamond Princess arrived in Yokohama on Monday after a round trip to Hong Kong.
The ship was quarantined upon arrival in Japan after an 80-year-old man who disembarked on January 25 in Hong Kong later 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. Those who showed symptoms such as a fever or cough, or had contact with the first infected man or those showing symptoms were specifically screened for the new coronavirus. Of the 273 tested, 61 have come back positive.
On Wednesday, 10 people on board had tested positive for the virus. On Thursday, 10 more cases were confirmed, and 171 still had yet to be tested. On Friday, 41 of those 171 were confirmed to have the virus.
The initial 10 patients, all over 50 years old, consist of two Australians, three Japanese people, three Hong Kongers, one American, and one Filipino, the cruise operator Princess Cruises said in a press release. The 41 new cases included eight were American, five Canadains, five Australians, one Briton, one Argentinian and 21 Japanese, the LA Times reported.
The initial ten cases were transported to an isolation clinic at a nearby hospital on the Japanese mainland by The Japanese Coast Guard. Reuters reported that new cases will be taken to hospitals in Tokyo and other towns.
Authorities have quarantined the ship. Passengers are in the midst of a 14-day lockdown where they cannot leave the ship, which began earlier this week.
Princess Cruises says it has given guests free WiFi and telephones to stay in touch with their families. Some of the passengers on the cruise ship confirmed to Business Insider, other news outlets, and on their own social media feeds that they received free WiFi, calls, and on-board entertainment. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the casino, shops, and photo studio had been shuttered, and photos shared by a passenger on board showed the rooftop pool deserted.
While, some like passenger David Abel appeared to be in good spirits when the quarantine was first announced, concerns over food and supplies started to rise. In a series of videos posted on Facebook, Abel shared what it was like on the ship.
Shannon, a woman who asked to only be identified by her first name told Business Insider, that initially breakfast wasn't delivered till around 1:30 in the afternoon.
Abel, who is diabetic, and needs to eat regularly expressed concern over how late meals were delivered and what they contained. Shannon said one breakfast was simply a bowl of fruit and yogurt.
It seems as some of those issues are being addressed. As of Friday, Shannon said breakfast was sent out around 9:15 a.m. and consisted of a piece of fruit, yogurt, eggs, bacon, sausage links, and croissants.
"I figured the first few days would be bad because the ship made it pretty clear that it needed to restock," she said.
She also explained how those on the inner cabin, who don't have access to a balcony, were allowed on to the main deck for fresh air.
"I genuinely feel for those folks who don't have air," she said.
Small groups were allowed on to the main deck for an hour and a half with strict restrictions on wearing face masks, not congregating and keeping a distance from each other. Initially, they were only required to wear face masks but as of Friday, an announcement was made that gloves would also be given out.
"I wonder if this is some sort of backpedaling or if they will face backlash from the people who were let out without access to gloves. I believe it's common knowledge that the masks are not effective if you also don't protect your hands," Shannon wrote in an email.
Last week Italian authorities quarantined a cruise ship carrying more than 6,000 people at a port in Civitavecchia, Italy, amid fears that two passengers had the coronavirus. They were released on January 31.
The World Dream cruise was also quarantined in Hong Kong on Thursday over fears of the new coronavirus onboard. Authorities screened the thousands on board, but no confirmed cases were reported, according to Reuters.
The novel coronavirus has hit the travel industry hard, as multiple airlines have canceled flights to mainland China and countries have advised against visiting the country. Shares of airlines, hotels, and cruise lines have been trading lower since the outbreak began.
The coronavirus has killed 635 people and infected more than 31,000 others across 26 countries since it broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan in early December. The vast majority of confirmed cases are in China.
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