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Kyodo

Another 67 people on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined off Japan’s coast have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the country’s health minister said on Saturday.
The new cases bring the number of people diagnosed on the Diamond Princess to 285, excluding a quarantine officer who also contracted the illness.
The new reports came as the United States on Saturday announced it would send an aircraft to evacuate about 400 Americans on board the cruise ship.
The US embassy said the goverment “recommends, out of an abundance of caution, that US citizens disembark and return to the United States for further monitoring”.


The remarks were later echoed by a US state department spokesperson, who confirmed that US citizens should return.
The embassy warned that those who came back would have to undergo another 14 days of quarantine when they arrived in the US.
A chartered flight would arrive in Japan on Sunday, but it was not immediately clear when it would leave.
The message by the embassy said the flight would land at Travis Air Force Base in California, with some passengers continuing to a second air base in Texas.
Coronavirus: how Diamond Princess became a ‘super spreading’ site
Japanese public broadcaster NHK said 400 Americans were on board the cruise ship and the plane would leave Tokyo’s Haneda airport as early as Monday.
“Passengers will be screened for symptoms and we are working with our Japanese partners to ensure that any symptomatic passengers receive the required care in Japan if they cannot board the flight,” the message said.
“Should you choose not to return on this charter flight, you will be unable to return to the United States for a period of time,” it warned.


The Japanese government was arranging special embarkation procedures for US citizens taking the chartered flight, an official said, adding that “a certain number” of other countries had also shown interest in similar evacuation measures.
While some US nationals on the ship had urged their government to extract them from the boat, others on board criticised the plan.
“Incredibly disappointed that the US Government has decided to throw a monkey wrench into the quarantine we have maintained here on board the Diamond Princess,” tweeted Matt Smith, an American lawyer. “The US Government ... wants to take us off without testing, fly us back to the US with a bunch of other untested people, and then stick us in 2 more weeks of quarantine? How does that make any sense at all?”
Japan confirms first death of person with new coronavirus
There were more than 3,700 people on the ship when it arrived off the Japanese coast in early February. It was placed in quarantine after a passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong tested positive for the Covid-19 disease.
Those diagnosed on board had been removed to local hospital, with people remaining on the ship told that their quarantine would be over on February 19, two weeks from when it officially began.
But a message broadcast on the ship by the captain on Saturday night cast doubt on that timeline.


“The Japanese government has informed us that they may start a new testing process for guests beginning February 18,” the message said, warning that it would take several days to complete and results would not be available for around three days.
“So guests who are tested on February 18 and have negative test results may be able to disembark beginning February 21,” the message said.
Not just China: travellers avoiding Singapore, Japan amid virus outbreak
Those who had close contact with anyone who tested positive would have to restart their quarantine from the date of their last close contact, the captain added.
Crew on board will also go into a new quarantine period once the passengers have left the ship, though details of how long that would last were not immediately clear, the broadcast said.
Japan’s government has begun allowing elderly passengers on the ship in poor health to leave and finish their quarantine on land.
Those on board have been mostly confined to their cabins and required to wear masks and keep their distance from others during brief outings on deck.
Panic buying, mistrust and economic woes as Japan reels from coronavirus
Meanwhile, the health ministry on Saturday confirmed another 12 infections in Japan – including taxi drivers in Tokyo and patients at a western Japanese hospital where two doctors had already tested positive – bringing the total number of cases, including of those on the cruise ship, to at least 338.
Excluding the cases on the ship, plus an infected quarantine officer, Japanese authorities have so far diagnosed at least 52 people with the virus, which has killed more than 1,500 people and infected at least 66,000 in China.
The Japanese government on Saturday also said it would send a fifth chartered plane to Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak, on Sunday evening to bring home more Japanese and family members. The plane would return to Haneda airport on Monday morning.
Additional reporting by AFP


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Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus: 67 new infections on Diamond Princess confirmed

Medical workers leave after tending to passengers on the quarantined Diamond Princess on February 15, 2020. Photo: AP

Japanese tourist may have spread coronavirus to Hawaii as US prepares to evacuate Diamond Princess passengers

Outside mainland China, Japan is among the nations hardest hit by the coronavirus, with at least 251 confirmed cases. Photo: AP

Coronavirus: infected taxi driver had contact with Diamond Princess passengers in Japan

A bus believed to carry elderly passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship leaves the cruise terminal in Yokohama on February 14, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE

epa08216338 Personel in protective gear walk next to ambulances parked before the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan, 14 February 2020. According to latest media reports, 218 passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus, rising the number of infections to around 250 in Japan. More than 3,500 passengers and crew are still on board. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government will allocate 10.3 billion yen (94 million US dollar) to fight the outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus. EPA-EFE/FRANCK ROBICHON

A driver wearing protective suits is seen inside a bus which believed to carry elderly passengers of the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where dozens of passengers were tested positive for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo February 14, 2020. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN.

Coronavirus: how Diamond Princess cruise ship became a ‘super spreading’ site

Passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess cruise liner are under quarantine until February 19, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Passengers and children stand on the desk of the cruise ship Diamond Princess, as the vessel's passengers continue to be tested for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan February 13, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Coronavirus cruise ship: stuck on board the quarantined Diamond Princess

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The new cases bring the number of infections on board the cruise ship to 285
The US initially said it would send a chartered flight to evacuate some 380 citizens on board, but Japan later said it would not be happening



The new cases bring the number of people diagnosed on the Diamond Princess cruise ship to 285.


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