12th case of coronavirus confirmed in US; 20 cases of coronavirus on quarantined cruise ship in Japan
Over 500 deaths blamed on coronavirus, with nearly 30,000 cases confirmed worldwide; Jonathan Serrie reports from Atlanta.
An additional 41 people aboard the now-quarantined Diamond Princess cruise liner have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the current total to 61, Japanese officials said.
The rest of the ship’s 2,666 guests and 1,045 crew members, currently quarantined on the Diamond Princess at a port in Yokohama, are likely to remain that way for "at least 14 days as required by the Ministry of Health," according to a previous statement shared by the cruise line.
Half of the guests are from Japan, the cruise line said in a statement.
The Diamond Princess, seen here anchored at Yokohama Port on Feb. 6, has so far reported 20 cases of the coronavirus among passengers and crew. (Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Kyodo News via AP)
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Princess Cruises previously had confirmed that at least 10 passengers had tested positive for the virus in a statement released earlier this week. Screening for the novel illness initially began on Monday, after the ship returned to Yokohama after a 14-day cruise. Concerns arose after a passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong on Jan. 25 tested positive for the virus.
The first 10 passengers who tested positive were transported to local medical centers, Princess Cruises said Wednesday. On Thursday, however, the cruise line released a subsequent statement confirming that “10 additional people” had tested positive.
A quarantined passenger stands outside on the balcony of the Diamond Princess on Feb. 6. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
“Princess Cruises can confirm that we have been notified that amongst the second set of samples that have completed testing,10 additional people have tested positive for Coronavirus.”
A total of 20 passengers who were found to have been infected have been escorted off the ship to hospitals.
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The infected passengers currently include seven people from Japan, three from the U.S., three from Hong Kong, two from Australia, two from Canada, and one each from New Zealand, Taiwan and the Philippines.
The cruise line reportedly was still waiting on test results from roughly 170 other people, according to Reuters.
“The health and safety of our guests and crew remains our top priority. We continue to work closely with the Japan Ministry of Health on all protocols and procedures while ensuring the comfort of our guests,” Princess cruises added.
Guests on the ship, meanwhile, have been trying to make the best of things despite fears of contamination.
“It’s not going to be a luxury cruise; it’s going to be like a floating prison,” passenger David Abel said on Facebook while quarantined aboard the ship, according to the Associated Press, which added that guests have taken to playing cards or holing up in their rooms.
“The people I feel really sorry for are those with inside cabins who've got no natural light, no fresh air. It's going to be pretty grim for them for two weeks," said Abel, who remarked that the prospect of a few more weeks on the ship equated to "absolute boredom."
Medical workers in protective suits are seen aboard the Diamond Princess earlier this week. (@daxa_tw via AP)
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The Diamond Princess was one of two major cruise liners ordered to be quarantined this past week, along with the World Dream out of Hong Kong, which was denied entry into Taiwan on Tuesday with over 3,600 passengers and crew members, some of whom reported feeling ill.
On Thursday, the cruise line confirmed that the 33 crew members who had previously reported feeling sick have tested negative for the coronavirus.
"However, as a further precaution, Department of Health Officials are also examining one additional Nepalese crew member who displayed a fever last night and has been transferred to a public hospital for further testing," Dream Cruises said in a statement shared with Fox News.
It was unclear how long passengers would be kept on the World Dream, which is currently docked at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong. Dream Cruises currently says "no passengers or crew will be allowed to disembark from World Dream until the test results from the affected crew members have been confirmed."
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As of Thursday morning, the coronavirus had claimed the lives of 563 people, with over 28,000 infected worldwide. The U.S. also had reported 12 confirmed cases.
Fox News' David Aaro and the Associated Press contributed to this report.