Japan quarantine officer on cruise ship infected with new virus

February 12, 2020

Tokyo--A quarantine officer who conducted virus tests for passengers and crew members on a cruise liner off Japan was found infected with the new coronavirus, the health ministry said Wednesday.

It is the first time that a quarantine officer in Japan has been confirmed carrying the virus originating in China.

According to the ministry, the infected officer has been hospitalized, and those with close contact with the officer have been instructed to refrain from going outside.

The ministry also said 39 more people aboard the cruise ship Diamond Princess have been confirmed infected with the new coronavirus among 53 people whose test results newly became available.

The revelation brought the total number of confirmed infection cases on the cruise ship to 174, out of 492 passengers and crew members who have taken virus tests.

The total number of confirmed infection cases in Japan has now exceeded 200.

Health minister Katsunobu Kato revealed Wednesday that four people found infected on the cruise ship are now in serious conditions, such being on ventilators or in intensive care units. The four are men in their 60s or 70s, and three of them are of Japanese nationality.

The ship arrived at Daikoku Pier at the port of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, just south of Tokyo, on Feb. 3. Quarantine procedures started because a Hong Kong man who had left the ship in Hong Kong was found infected with the virus.

The first quarantine clearance done for the ship on Feb. 1 in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, was cancelled due to the discovery of the Hong Kong man's infection. Jiji Press