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Coronavirus: 99 more cases on Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan as US evacuates citizens
- Cruise ship has been moored in Yokohama near Tokyo and has been identified as the largest cluster outside China with 454 cases
- As criticism of Japanese quarantine mounts, US evacuates about 340 Americans, including 14 people confirmed to have been infected
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An additional 99 people have tested positive for coronavirus on a cruise ship off the Japan coast, Japanese media said on Monday, citing new figures from the health ministry.
The Diamond Princess vessel moored in Yokohama near Tokyo has become the largest cluster of coronavirus cases outside the epicentre in China with 454 cases confirmed.
The ship was placed under quarantine on February 4, with about 3,600 passengers and crew affected. Officials have so far screened a total of 1,723 people on board, broadcaster NHK reported.
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The quarantine period is scheduled to end on Wednesday but many countries have decided to repatriate their citizens after an alarming climb in cases on board. As criticism grows of Japan’s handling of the ship crisis, the US was the first country to evacuate its citizens from the ship but Australia, Canada, Italy and Hong Kong have indicated they will follow suit.
Two US government-chartered planes carrying about 340 American citizens left Tokyo’s Haneda airport early on Monday morning. US officials later confirmed 14 people who had tested positive for the coronavirus were among those evacuated. It was not clear whether they were included in the 99 cases reported by Japanese officials.
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