MUMBAI GIRL SENDS SOS

An Indian security officer aboard the quarantined British cruise ship, Diamond Princess, whose family is in Mumbai, has sent out a distress call for help to the Indian government through the good offices of a TV channel. The officer, Sonali Thakur, was placed in isolation on Monday, a week after the ship docked at Yokohoma on February 3. "We are scared that if the infection is spreading, it is spreading so fast that we could also become one of them. We don't want to. We just want to go back home," she said. The 24-year-old officer gave the interview to NDTV even as the Diamond Princess reported 39 new coronavirus cases.

The situation on the cruise ship has worsened, compounded by the delay in getting results on coronavirus tests being performed on passengers. "We want the Indian government to take us back to India and isolate us there. Or at least send some more medical staffers across to help these people with the tests. We want to go home," Thakur said. A few days ago, Binay Kumar Sarkar -- a chef from north Bengal -- had gone on social media to appeal to the Indian government for help. The Indian Embassy in Tokyo responded with an assurance that it is "constantly monitoring" the situation. Thakur told NDTV that she has already informed her friends and family in Mumbai about her situation. "They are really worried about me, they just want me to get back home. They are praying day and night for me, and that's all they can do from their side," she said. "And I just want to tell (my parents) to stay strong, stay positive. Your girl is going to be back soon."