A new batch of tests for the new coronavirus on people aboard the liner Diamond Princess in quarantine in Japan has revealed 88 additional positive cases bringing the total to 542, the Japanese Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday.
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Of 681 people newly tested on the immobilized ship near Yokohama (a suburb of Tokyo), 88 were positive. Some 3,700 passengers and crew members of 56 nationalities were initially on board.
Other examination results are expected because all passengers and crew members still on the boat (some 3000 people) have now undergone a sample, said the Minister of Health, Katsunobu Kato. It is therefore possible that the total may increase further.
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In theory, the quarantine period started on February 5 ends on Wednesday. Those who display a negative test and have not had close contact with an infected person will be allowed to alight from the cruise ship. In other cases, the period of isolation will be prolonged, in the hospital for individuals who test positive. " We are preparing for the exit of healthy people ," confirmed Mr. Kato.
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The United States has already repatriated their
Landing operations will begin on Wednesday but are expected to last until Friday. " If you and the people accompanying you are negative, you can prepare, " said a letter sent to passengers by the government.
Without waiting for the decision of the Japanese authorities, who are coming under increasing criticism for this crisis management, the United States has already repatriated their people by plane to place them in quarantine in their country. Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Italy and the United Kingdom have decided to do the same.
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In addition, apart from those infected in the ship, 74 other cases were recorded on Japanese territory, including a teenager in Wakayama, said a local official.
For the moment, however, only one death has been recorded, that of an 80-year-old woman in Kanagawa prefecture, bordering Tokyo.
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