2 more Japan officials +ve

Tokyo, Feb. 24: Two more officials sent to a cruise ship quarantined off Japan to help with on-board efforts to contain the deadly covid-19 have contracted the illness themselves, authorities said Monday. The announcement came as experts warned the next one to three weeks would be “crucial” to preventing widespread infections and as fears deepen that the isolation of the virus-stricken Diamond Princess has been ineffective.

A quarantine officer in his 50s and a health ministry official in his 40s both tested positive and are in hospital, the ministry said, after they were dispatched separately to the vessel earlier this month.

The new infections come after Japan Sunday reported a third death among people who spent time on the ship — a man in his 80s who died from pneumonia. Six officials linked to containment work on the boat have now tested positive, fuelling doubts about the effectiveness of the quarantine.

“We don’t know at the moment through what routes the infections occurred. We’ll find out and take measures,” a ministry official told reporters.

More than 690 ship passengers have so far fallen ill with the pathogen, and off the vessel Japan has confirmed over 140 cases.

Shigeru Omi, chief director at the Japan Community Healthcare Organisation said, “I admit the isolation policy was not perfect. The ship was not designed as a hospital. The ship is a ship.”