Japan finds 41 more cases on ship as virus alarm doc dies
BEIJING — Japan on Friday reported 41 new cases of a virus on a cruise ship that’s been quarantined in Yokohama harbor while the death toll in mainland China rose to 636, including a doctor who got in trouble with authorities for sounding an early warning about the disease threat.
Two docked cruise ships with thousands of passengers and crew remained under 14day quarantines in Hong Kong and Japan.
Before Friday’s 41 confirmed cases, 20 passengers who were found infected with the virus were escorted off the Diamond Princess at Yokohama near Tokyo. About 3,700 people have been confined aboard the ship.
Meanwhile, a newborn discovered infected 36 hours after birth has become the youngest known patient. The number of people infected globally is more than 31,000.
Dr. Li Wenliang, 34, had worked at a hospital in the epicenter of the outbreak in the central city of Wuhan. He was reprimanded by local police for “spreading rumors” about the illness in late December, according to news reports.
Li was among a number of medical professionals in Wuhan who tried to warn colleagues and others when the government did not, The New York Times reported this week. It said that after the mystery illness had stricken seven patients at a hospital, Li said of them in an online chat group Dec. 30: “Quarantined in the emergency department.”
Wuhan health officials summoned Li in the middle of the night to demand he explain why he shared the information, and police later forced him to sign a statement admitting to “illegal behavior,” the Times said.