Some wary about cruise ship passengers spreading virus

February 20, 2020

Tokyo--With passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, including Japanese nationals, who have tested negative for the new coronavirus starting to get off the vessel, some within Japan's political circle have voiced concerns that the virus could spread from them after disembarkation.

The Japanese government started the disembarkation program after the end of a 14-day period for monitoring the health of passengers onboard the cruise ship, which has been hit by an outbreak of the novel virus and is now docked at the port of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo.

"Is it really OK to allow them to return home, get on a packed train, go shopping at a department store and go see a movie?" opposition lawmaker Kazunori Yamanoi, former parliamentary vice minister of health, labor and welfare, said at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, on Wednesday.

"Isn't it wiser to isolate them for (another) two weeks?" he continued, challenging the government's decision.

The government plans to have all symptomless passengers testing negative disembark from the ship over three days to Friday. Those getting off the ship are urged to check their health condition every day, but no restrictions are imposed on what they do in daily life.

While the government decided on the move based on the expertise of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, concerns remain since the Japanese measures are different from actions by other countries.

The U.S. government has brought some 320 Americans aboard the Diamond Princess back home before the end of the 14-day health-monitoring period on the ship, and the returnees are now under quarantine at military bases in the U.S. homeland for another two weeks.

Canada, Australia, South Korea and Hong Kong are set to take similar measures.

The foreign governments opted for the measures apparently because they cannot rule out the possibility that the virus remains in the incubation period even if infection was not confirmed during the quarantine period on the ship.

In response to Yamanoi at the Lower House Budget Committee meeting, health minister Katsunobu Kato said that a decision to disembark passengers must be made at some point while noting that many things remain unknown about the new coronavirus.

Yamanoi countered, saying, "If you say the virus is mysterious, the government should act by assuming the worst-case scenario."

At a meeting on Wednesday of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party to discuss measures to tackle the viral outbreak, some participants voiced concerns over the risk of people getting off the cruise ship carrying the virus and infecting others.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner, at a meeting the same day that the government will firmly support passengers after they get off the ship. Jiji Press