Virus tightens grip

More cruise ship passengers infected as China death toll rises

JAPAN yesterday reported 41 new cases of the coronavirus on a cruise ship that has been quarantined in Yokohama harbour while the death toll in mainland China rose to 636.

Two docked cruise ships with thousands of passengers and crew members remained under 14-day quarantines in Hong Kong and Japan.

Before yesterday’s 41 confirmed cases, 20 passengers who were found infected with the virus were escorted off the Diamond Princess at Yokohama near Tokyo. About 3700 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 has risen to more than 31,000.

The deaths in China include a doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the disease threat.

Dr Li Wenliang, 34, had worked at a hospital in the epicentre of the outbreak in the central city of Wuhan. He was reprimanded by local police for “spreading rumours” about the illness in late December.

The outbreak has spread to two dozen countries, triggering travel restrictions and quarantines around the world and a crisis inside the country of 1.4 billion.

China finished building a second new hospital on Thursday to isolate and treat patients – a 1500-bed centre in Wuhan. Earlier this week, another rapidly constructed, 1000-bed hospital in Wuhan with prefabricated wards and isolation rooms began taking patients.

Authorities also moved people with milder symptoms into makeshift hospitals at sports arenas, exhibition halls and other public spaces.

All together, more than 50 million people are under virtual quarantine in Hubei province in an unprecedented – and unproven – bid to bring the outbreak under control.