3,700 passengers trapped in coronavirus infected ship

Tokyo: The jump in the number of cases on the ‘Diamond Princess’ came as the death toll from the virus in China had surpassed 600. Japanese officials recently said that 61 people had tested positive for the coronavirus on a quarantined cruise ship in Yokohama, a steep increase from the 20 confirmed cases.

Officials have screened 273 passengers they said were potentially exposed to the virus. The 41 new cases were to be taken off the ship for medical treatment.

3,700 passengers on the Diamond Princess ship have been stuck inside their cabins for days as part of a two-week quarantine. Meals have been irregular, and only were small groups finally permitted to go outside and breathe some fresh air.

“I keep hearing painful coughs from a foreigner in a nearby room,” one passenger wrote on Twitter, noting with concern that crew members were delivering meals from room to room. “I might get infected today or tomorrow.”

Other passengers who have been whiling away some of the time on social media told of more hopeful signs. One noted that supplies were being moved into the port and that ambulances were in position. Another said that entertainment crews had been visiting guest rooms to cheer people up, and that toilet paper had been distributed.

Of the 41 new cases, 21 were Japanese, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.

-Courtesy by New York Times