About 60 more cases on Japan cruise ship

TOKYO: Around 60 more people aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship moored off Japan have been diagnosed with 2019-nCoV, national broadcaster NHK said yesterday, bringing the total number of infected to about 130.

Other local media also reported the new cases, but health ministry officials declined to comment.

The Diamond Princess has been in quarantine since arriving off the Japanese coast early last week after the virus was detected in a former passenger who got off the ship last month in Hong Kong.

When the boat arrived off Japan, authorities initially tested nearly 300 people for the virus of the 3,711 on board, gradually evacuating dozens who were infected to local medical facilities.

In recent days, testing has expanded to those with new symptoms or who had close contact with other infected passengers or crew, and several more cases were reported over the weekend.

Those who remain on the ship have been asked to stay inside their cabins and allowed only briefly onto open decks.

They have been asked to wear masks and keep a distance from each other when outside, and given thermometers to regularly monitor their temperatures.

The ship is expected to stay in quarantine until February 19 – 14 days after the isolation period began.

The quarantine has made life on board the ship difficult, particularly for those in windowless interior cabins and a significant number of passengers who require medication for various chronic conditions.

The health ministry said Monday that around 600 people on board urgently needed medication, and around half received supplies over the weekend.

The World Health Organisation confirmed in a tweet that newly diagnosed cases on the ship should not extend the length of the quarantine.