Thousands of passengers remain quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship as 41 new cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed.
Twenty people, including two Australians, on the ship have already tested positive as having the novel coronavirus, as the rest of the 3700 passengers and crew wait to see if symptoms develop.
The ABC reported a total of 170 people have been tested in the past few days, describing it as a “significant development” with the number of passengers who tested positive to coronavirus hitting 61 on Friday afternoon.
Health authorities in Japan removed 10 passengers from the ship on Thursday to various prefectures across Yokohama, with that number doubling to 20 and as of 12pm on Friday there were 61 confirmed cases.
There are 200 Australians on board the ship.
Confined passengers took to social media to report conditions on board the cruise liner, including Queensland couple Paul and Jacqui Fidrmuc who said it was a “frightening situation”.
They were among 170 tested and will be forced to spend 12 more days in quarantine. They passed their medical testing but are concerned they still might have the virus.
“The concern we have is we might have the virus and we don’t have the symptoms,” Mr Fidrmuc said on Thursday.
“It’s a frightening situation but it is not a disease where if you get it, it’s certain death. You just have to be lighthearted about the whole situation.”
Hundreds of Australians remain in lock down on a #cruiseship off #Japan with at least 20 people now testing positive for #coronavirus. Passengers onboard the #DiamondPrincess told they could be confined to their cabins for 28 days. pic.twitter.com/0QTSuCHDH3
— Jeremy Song (@tezuma75) February 6, 2020
Authorities say the Diamond Princess outbreak can be traced to an 80-year-old Hong Kong man who disembarked the ship last month.
Passengers, many who have cabins without windows and will access to limited wifi, will be forced to stay in their rooms for two weeks.
“We have heard recently they might let us out to walk around but that is only a rumour,” Mr Fidrmuc said.
“We have all of the trimmings of a nice hotel room. We feel for those in interior rooms with no window.”
Matthew Smith said crews were “doing the best they can” with the situation, with many posting photos of their room service deliveries and special treats for their children.
“Quarantine leads to new experiences, like Japanese yogurt with aloe vera. Not bad at all, despite tasting a little like yogurt mixed with suntan lotion,” he wrote.
I am a passenger on the #DiamondPrincess also, and I agree the crew has been doing the best they can with the situation, and I believe the Japanese authorities are just trying to prevent the spread of the virus. Tough situation for everyone involved.
— Matthew Smith (@mjswhitebread) February 6, 2020
Day 2: Breakfast in bed, and options for lunch and dinner. It’s impressive how systems are being developed on the fly. #diamondprincess #Quarantine pic.twitter.com/pbtNwmuHsG
— quarantinedondiamondprincess (@quarantinedond1) February 6, 2020
The website for Diamond Princess issued an updated health advisory for its passengers, with many scheduled cruises being cancelled, delayed or diverted to other ports.
-with AAP
The post Thousands in lockdown on cruise ship in Japan as 61 passengers test positive to coronavirus appeared first on The New Daily.
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