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Another Indian on Japan cruise ship tests positive for coronavirus

Another Indian crew member onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), the Indian embassy in Tokyo confirmed on Wednesday. With this, the total number of Indian nationals who have tested positive for the virus now stands at 7.

The crew member has been shifted to the hospital for treatment. "One Indian crew who tested positive for #COVID19 among 88 new cases on Diamond Princess shifted to hospital for treatment. Indians receiving treatment responding well to the treatment. From today, the disembarkation of only passengers started, likely to continue till 21 Feb," the embassy said in a tweet.

With the discovery of new cases aboard the cruise ship, the total number of positive cases on the ship has now reached 621, the Japanese health ministry said.

A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew members and six passengers, are among the 3,711 people on the cruise ship which arrived at the Japanese coast earlier this month. The Indian Embassy had earlier also sent an email to all the Indian nationals aboard the ship assuring them of all the help and assistance. They are also requested to follow the Japanese government's health and quarantine protocols.

The ship was quarantined after one passenger, who had disembarked at Hong Kong on January 25, was found to be infected with coronavirus on February 1. Taking into account the maximum incubation period of 14 days for the coronavirus, the Japanese government quarantined the cruise ship at Yokohama for two weeks.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the epidemic in China crossed the 2,000-mark on Wednesday with the death of 136 more people, while the overall confirmed cases climbed to 74,185.

The National Health Commission of China said in its daily report that as many as 2,004 people had died of COVID-19, adding that it has confirmed 1,749 new cases of the infection. Of the new deaths, 132 were reported from the worst-hit Hubei Province and one each from Heilongjiang, Shandong, Guangdong, and Guizhou.

(Inputs and image from The Indian Express)

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