Japan to allow some to get off coronavirus-hit cruise ship

February 12, 2020

Tokyo--Japan's health ministry is considering allowing people with health concerns on the coronavirus-hit cruise ship Diamond Princess to get off the vessel, ministry officials said Tuesday.

Elderly people and those with chronic diseases may be able to disembark from the ship on Wednesday or later, the officials said, noting that the ministry is studying the move to prevent their health conditions from deteriorating amid their prolonged stays on the vessel.

The ministry is carefully considering specifics, such as the range of people who will be allowed to leave the ship and facilities to accommodate people after they get off the vessel, which is now being quarantined off Japan, the officials said.

According to the officials, 16 people, including passengers, have disembarked from the Diamond Princess for hospitalization for treatment of illness other than pneumonia caused by the new strain of coronavirus that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Some 3,500 passengers and crew members are still on the cruise ship, and the ministry is asking them to remain inside the vessel until Feb. 19, after the end of a 14-day health-monitoring period.

Meanwhile, the officials said that 43 of the 65 Diamond Princess passengers and crew members who were confirmed to be infected with the virus on Monday are Japanese.

Of the other 22 people, 12 are from the United States, four from Australia, three from the Philippines, and one each from Canada, Britain and Ukraine.

Of the 43 Japanese, two are in their 50s, 16 in their 60s, 19 in their 70s and five in their 80s, while one is 90 or older.

The ministry has started virus tests again for 197 Japanese people who returned home from Wuhan on Jan. 29 on the first of four flights chartered by Japan's government for the repatriation of its nationals from the epicenter of the viral outbreak.

The results of the tests are expected to become available on Wednesday or Thursday, and those testing negative will be allowed to return to their homes. The returnees are now staying at facilities prepared by the government.

As of Monday, the number of Diamond Princess passengers and crew members confirmed to be infected with the virus stood at 135. Jiji Press