Early Wednesday morning local time, Princess Cruises announced 39 new positive cases of coronavirus – COVID-19 on Diamond Princess vessel, which is quarantined in Japan.
At least 174 passengers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus until now on the cruise ship. An estimated 3,700 people are trapped aboard. „We are following guidance from the Japan Ministry of Health on plans for disembarkation protocols to provide medical care for these new cases,” the cruise line said in a statement. The ship has offered supervised walks on the deck for passengers.
The vessel will remain under quarantine in the waters off Yokohama until Feb. 19. The global death toll from the virus has surpassed 1,000, with another 44,000 infections in at least 25 countries. A further 94 deaths were reported on Wednesday in the hardest-hit province of Hubei. Deaths in mainland China now stand at 1,113. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says there is a “realistic chance” of stopping the deadly virus originating from China. However there are still a lot of unknowns about the coronavirus outbreak, including its transmission and origin and the WHO warned the virus posed a “grave threat” to the world.
