Coronavirus chaos
Aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship
It’s the ongoing health epidemic that’s spreading rapidly across the globe, and with new confirmed cases every day, the coronavirus is showing no sign of slowing down. Holidaygoers on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship are stuck on board the vessel after at least 219 passengers were diagnosed with the illness. The entire ship – including 3600 passengers and crew – has been under strict quarantine since February 4, while those infected have been taken to hospitals onshore.
Speaking to WHO from on board the Diamond Princess, Melbourne-based mum Aun Na Tan shed some light on the situation.
“We’ve been in our rooms since the Tuesday evening,” Tan says.
“We were asked to head back to our rooms and remain there while they figured out what was going on. The next morning they announced we were being quarantined for at least two weeks.” Since then, Tan, her husband and two of their teenage children have been stranded on board the cruise ship – which is currently docked in the Japanese port of Yokohama – with no guarantees about when they’ll be able to come home.
“We were meant to finish on February 4. We’ve been told that our end date for quarantine is February 19,” Tan explains.
“They have said that if there are any unforeseen circumstances or if you’ve been in close contact with someone who is then tested positive, that might be reset.”
Passengers are being tested by medical professionals for the virus in batches, with only 300 test samples being processed per day. Tan explains she and her family haven’t been tested yet, but they are being vigilant with taking their temperatures and reducing their risk of infection by washing their hands and wearing their face masks.
“We’ve all been given individual thermometers and we are vigilantly checking that about three times a day,” she says.
Confined within the walls of their twobunk-bed internal room with no windows, the family are not allowed to go out until their scheduled time.
“We only go out for about half an hour. We generally just walk up and down the deck like everyone else.”
As to whether she’s worried about her family getting infected, Tan says they’ve been given strict quarantine protocol. “Before we go outside, we have to sanitise our hands and we’re asked to limit interactions to two metres.”
In terms of food and entertainment, Tan says the crew – of whom at least 10 have tested positive – are taking excellent care of everyone.
“We get an appetiser, an entree, a main meal and dessert. Every day they are delivering two-litre bottles of water. They’re giving us lots of fruits as well,” Tan reveals. “They’ve been doing everything in their power to make sure that we feel safe and are comfortable.”
During their extended stay on the ship, passengers are even able to get online deliveries from stores like Amazon. “We can get anything delivered to us except tobacco, alcohol and electronics,” Tan explains.
Princess Cruises has since announced it will refund all cruise fares to passengers.
In addition, Tan says, “They have indicated that they are working on ensuring we get home after quarantine, but there is still no clear indication what that means.”
“We are stuck in a windowless cabin room” — AUN NA TAN