01 Investigation
Written by: Liang Zurao, Li Yinglin, Zheng Jiaru, Chen Xinxi
2021-01-22 07:05
The last update date: 2021-01-22 07:05
A year ago, the new crown pneumonia epidemic broke out on the luxury cruise ship "Diamond Princess", resulting in 712 infections and 13 deaths, including two Hong Kongers.
This epidemic is the first major outbreak outside of China, revealing that cruise ships are fragile when suffering from infectious respiratory diseases; the desirable sea vacation is a sudden and thrilling journey.
As early as February 1 last year, the Hong Kong Department of Health had notified the relevant personnel of the "Diamond Princess" that a passenger was diagnosed after disembarking. The other party also said that it would strengthen the cleanliness of the ship. However, during the critical five days from the 1st to the 5th, those who were diagnosed on the ship However, there was a rapid increase from 1 to 10, laying the groundwork for the initial outbreak.
What happened on the ship these five days?
After "Hong Kong 01" searched for passengers, crew and reorganization, it was found that the cruise management staff did not stop entertainment in time. Until the evening of February 3, at least two large-scale performances with more than 100 people were held as usual, almost without any isolation measures. No one wears a mask.
Research by Japanese experts pointed out that the delay in response is the root cause of the pandemic outbreak.
[The third anniversary of the anti-epidemic series]
A series of reports on the first anniversary of the Diamond Princess:
Anti-epidemic for a year·Diamond Princess｜The key to reorganization on the 5th day revealed that the company’s late response caused the epidemic to get out of control
Anti-epidemic for a year, Diamond Princess | Revealing that the sea quarantine failure crew continued to work as a canteen into a hotbed
Anti-epidemic for a year·Diamond Princess | Two Hong Kong people killed by epidemic ship Kong Fanyi: Should be quarantined in the morning
▼Pictures of the first five days after the reorganization of the Diamond Princess became infected ▼
The first passenger diagnosed on February 1 increased to 10 people 4 days later
"The 14th case is a man, 80 years old, who boarded the ship in Yokohama, Japan on January 20, via Kagoshima, and returned to Hong Kong on January 25."
Zhang Zhujun, director of the Infectious Diseases Division of the Centre for Health Protection of the Hong Kong Department of Health, announced the confirmed case of Bo Wu at a press conference on February 2 last year, setting off a prelude to the outbreak of the "Diamond Princess" with more than 3,700 people.
Uncle Wu was the first confirmed person on board.
Five days after disembarking in Hong Kong (30th), he was admitted to Caritas Medical Centre with a fever. He was transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital and was diagnosed on February 1.
The Department of Health confirmed to "Hong Kong 01" that on the evening of February 1st, the Department had notified Bo Wu's case to the shipping agent of the "Diamond Princess" in Hong Kong, and notified the Japanese health authorities at about 1:00 am on February 2 .
The media initially quoted news that Bo Wu had reported to the authorities that he had not returned to the Mainland. During the transfer of Caritas Medical Hospital, he tried to leave through the back door and was eventually intercepted and sent to Princess Margaret Hospital.
(Data Picture/Photo by Yu Ruijing)
"The New York Times" reported that the shipping agent responded to the Department of Health at the end of the day, saying that it would notify the cruise ship of the necessary disinfection.
The newspaper also quoted the shipping company’s internal emails, stating that the Hong Kong government’s health officials once again e-mailed on February 2 to recommend thorough cleaning and disinfection of the cruise ship. Grant Tarling, the vice chairman and medical director of the cruise parent company Carnival Group, also learned of Wu Bo on the same day. Confirmed.
Checking the daily epidemic report of the World Health Organization, the number of confirmed cases on the "Diamond Princess" increased sharply from one on February 1 to 10 on February 5, and then increased by dozens of cases per day.
Since the Department of Health has notified it early that the cruise ship will also be disinfected, why is the epidemic on board out of control?
"Hong Kong 01" was the first to interview the first sick passenger of the Diamond Princess and Uncle Wu, who had just recovered from the hospital at the time, to reconstruct the experience before and after boarding the ship.
(Photo by Liang Zurao)
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Reorganization of Hong Kong passengers on February 2: no confirmed diagnosis and no disinfection on board
"A friend contacted us, saying that someone on the cruise ship (Bo Wu) was diagnosed. We immediately went to the customer service office and asked them how to deal with it. They said that if there is an arrangement, an announcement will be made," recalled Hong Kong passenger Miss Huang.
She and her family boarded the "Diamond Princess" in Hong Kong on January 25, and Uncle Wu disembarked on the same day; they were never on board at the same time, but Ms. Huang was still nervous when she heard that passengers were diagnosed after they left the ship.
The cruise ship had left Okinawa that day and was heading for Yokohama. Everything on board was as usual, but she was even more worried. "There are alcohol and washstands in the restaurant, but these have been there since we boarded the ship. On the contrary, we have not seen any large-scale cleaning and no cancellations. Activities, but we were very nervous. We started to wear masks that day. We would rather not go to some programs and try to keep our distance."
Ms. Huang said that she noticed that there were more people on the boat coughing. She heard someone coughing constantly at the side table when she was eating with her family. They left immediately and preferred to go to another restaurant for dinner.
Those who experienced SARS in 2003 were extremely cautious, but they were only a minority on the ship. "Almost no one wore masks. Many people looked at us and thought we (wearing masks) were strange."
Hong Kong passenger Miss Huang recalled.
She and her family boarded the "Diamond Princess" in Hong Kong on January 25, only to hear that passengers were diagnosed after they disembarked. "Almost no one wore masks. Many people looked at us and thought we (wearing masks) were strange."
(Photo by Liang Zurao)
▼Respondents provided online pictures on board and passengers at the time▼
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February 3: The captain said the situation was under control and more than 100 people gathered to watch the show at night
On February 3, the Japanese parliament discussed that the "Diamond Princess" would arrive in Yokohama. For the first time, government officials publicly stated that they planned to test the unwell on board for the virus, but did not decide whether to isolate them.
At that time, there were 20 confirmed cases nationwide, and three of them were suspected of local infections. The government still had no comprehensive measures to deal with the epidemic.
Passengers on the cruise ship gradually learned about Bo Wu’s case from the news, and the media began to follow up. Some passengers recorded the situation on board on Twitter, showing that the captain did not broadcast the case of Bo Wu for the first time until about 6:30 in the evening, but he said the situation was under control. , Calling for no worries, and telling passengers that if they feel unwell, they can seek help from the on-board medical center without paying medical fees.
However, entertainment has not stopped.
"There is a theater performance at 7:30 in the evening, which can be watched by more than 300 people, but there were only about 100 people that night, which is not half as usual," recalled Mr. Chen, another Hong Kong passenger on board.
At least two large-scale performances watched by more than 100 people were held that night. The reporter found a clip of another theater performance on Twitter, which showed that most of the audience did not wear masks.
The passenger, Mr. Chen, who had been diagnosed in Japan for medical treatment, said that the first passenger contracted Corona Pneumonia on February 1 last year, but the entertainment activities on the evening of February 3 did not stop, and more than 100 passengers watched it together.
(Photo by Liang Zurao)
▼Pictures of the recovered Chen Sheng on the cruise ship and Japanese hospital▼
February 4th: Japanese quarantine personnel accompany passengers to disembark the ship and on-board facilities remain open as usual
The "Diamond Princess" arrived in Yokohama at about 11 pm on February 3. Japanese health officials boarded the ship one after another. There was a broadcast requesting all passengers to return to their rooms and wait for someone to take their temperature.
Uploaded by passengers to Twitter, the on-board broadcast on the morning of February 4 announced that some passengers had an "emergency" and were accompanied by quarantine officers to disembark in the early morning, but the facilities on the ship were still open as usual.
In the evening, it was announced that the test would have results the next morning. Passengers need to stay on board, and the cruise originally scheduled to depart from Yokohama on February 4 to other destinations was also cancelled.
Passenger Twitter photos and clips showed that passengers could still eat in the on-board restaurant that night, and some passengers also gathered at the tea seat in the indoor swimming pool. Most people still did not wear masks.
Up to this night, most passengers thought that the journey ended early. Unexpectedly, the epidemic had spread quietly. The Japanese media first reported that there were more people on the ship who were diagnosed. Panic among the passengers immediately triggered. Miss Huang was one of them. Very nervous and helpless, the shipping company has no special arrangements, and we don’t know what we can do.”
The "Diamond Princess" arrived in Yokohama at about 11 pm on February 3. Japanese health officials boarded the ship one after another. There was a broadcast requesting all passengers to return to their rooms and wait for someone to take their temperature.
(Daxa_tw Twitter picture)
February 5: Sudden increase to 10 people diagnosed. The government ordered the entire ship to be quarantined at sea
It was not until the morning of February 5 that the ship broadcast officially announced the test results, saying that 10 people had been notified by the Japanese government that they had tested positive and had urgently arranged to disembark for treatment.
The Japanese government announced on the same day that in order to prevent the spread of infection, the "Diamond Princess" passengers and crew are prohibited from disembarking from the ship, and the entire ship must be quarantined in Yokohama waters for 14 days.
Due to the hasty decision, the crew and even the Japanese officials were in a hurry.
According to reports, some passengers were unable to obtain the necessary drugs at the initial stage of quarantine, and the Japanese government also admitted that the testing capacity has reached the upper limit and it takes longer to identify the confirmed cases.
Take Mr. Chen as an example. He developed a fever on February 4, but was arranged for testing 10 days later, and was diagnosed two days later before leaving the ship for treatment.
On February 4, Japan’s then health and labor minister, Katsushika Kato, pointed out at a parliament meeting that he would wait for the results of the PCR inspection of the first batch of passengers before deciding how to respond.
The next day, 10 passengers tested positive, and the Japanese government immediately announced that the passengers and crew of the "Diamond Princess" must be quarantined in the waters of Yokohama for 14 days.
(Screenshot of the live broadcast of the Japanese Diet meeting)
Japanese expert research: February 2 to 4 is the peak of infection
Since the first passenger was diagnosed on February 1, the "Diamond Princess" took four days to cancel all onboard activities and officially implement quarantine. Have you missed the "prime time" for fighting the epidemic?
Hiroshi Nishiura, a member of the Cluster Case Response Team of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan and a professor at the Medical Research Institute of Hokkaido University, provided the answer in a paper published at the end of February 2020.
XJTLU analyzed the data of 199 confirmed cases on the cruise ship and found that 74 of them (37%) developed symptoms from February 7 to 9 with symptoms of COVID-19.
He calculated on this basis that February 2 to 4 was the peak of infection.
As mentioned earlier, during these critical days, the ship’s entertainment activities continued as usual. The captain declared that the situation was under control and most passengers did not wear masks.
Xipu Bo’s research also revealed that the onset of passengers is generally earlier than that of crew members, which means that the virus is likely to spread between passengers first, then to crew members working in different positions on the ship, and then further between crew members and crew members and passengers. spread.
Kong Fanyi believes that patient 0 just disembarked in early February, and there are no isolation measures on board, passengers can still move freely, so the risk is the highest. "Of course the highest risk is gatherings, because people face to face and may be infected by droplets."
(Photo by Hong Yeming)
Kong Fanyi of Hong Kong University: Passengers' free movement increases the risk of droplet infection
Kong Fanyi, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Department of Internal Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, agreed with Bo Xipu's analysis.
He believes that in early February, patient zero had just disembarked, and there were no isolation measures on board, and passengers were still free to move around. Therefore, the risk was the highest. "Of course the highest risk is gatherings, because people face each other and may be infected by droplets."
He explained that although passengers on cruise ships can move outdoors, such as on the deck, most of the time they are concentrated in a closed indoor environment, so they are classified as "semi-closed spaces." In addition to close interpersonal contact, the virus also has a chance to pass through the air conditioning system Spread, "In the past, there were also outbreaks of many different infectious diseases on cruise ships, including influenza and Norwalk (Noro) virus."
The outbreak of the new crown epidemic on the "Diamond Princess" exposed the fragility of cruise ships in the face of infectious respiratory diseases. However, Kong Fanyi pointed out that if passengers are disembarked early and transferred to large sports venues or exhibition halls for isolation, the epidemic may be earlier Controlled, "Because the environment is more open, the air circulation will be better, (comparatively) the chance of cross-infection on the ship is relatively low."
Anti-epidemic for a year, Diamond Princess | Revealing that the sea quarantine failure crew continued to work as a canteen into a hotbed
Anti-epidemic for a year·Diamond Princess | Two Hong Kong people killed by epidemic ship Kong Fanyi: Should be quarantined in the morning
[Wuhan Pneumonia] Uncle Wu is diagnosed for the first time in response to the Diamond Princess’s allegations of spreading poison: it may not be my business
[Diamond Princess] Hong Kong residents stayed in a hospital in Japan for a month, but after returning home, they are still not afraid to travel on a cruise
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Diamond Princess COVID-19 Detection 01 Video
