Update: Additional Diamond Princess passengers tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.
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A Princess Cruises ship with 2,666 passengers onboard will
remain quarantined in Japan for two weeks after 10 passengers tested positive
for coronavirus.
An additional 10 passengers
on the Diamond Princess tested positive for coronavirus, Princess said
on Feb. 5.
Princess said the afflicted
include four Japanese guests, one from Taiwan, two Americans,
two Canadians and one from New Zealand. Like the 10 previous
passengers that tested positive, local public health authorities will disembark
those guests and transport them to local hospitals immediately for
care.
The Diamond Princess has been quarantined in Yokohama since
Monday after Princess said that a passenger on a previous cruise had tested
positive for coronavirus, six days after disembarking the ship in Hong Kong.
The Japanese Ministry of Health began screening all passengers and crew onboard
and found 10 passengers that tested positive for coronavirus: two from
Australia, three from Japan, three from Hong Kong, one from the U.S and a
Filipino crewmember. Princess said all 10 were taken ashore by the Japanese
Coast Guard and transported to local hospitals for care.
Princess confirmed that the ship will remain under
quarantine in Yokohama for at least 14 days as required by Japan’s Ministry of
Health. The ship will go out to sea to perform normal marine operations such as
producing fresh water and ballast operations before docking in Yokohama where
food, provisions, and other supplies will be brought onboard.
Princess said it will
provide passengers complimentary internet and telephone to use in order to stay
in contact with their family and loved ones.
The company canceled the next two Diamond Princess cruises
departing Yokohama, Feb. 4 and Feb 12.