The number of passengers who have been infected with Coronavirus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship has increased again.
Princess Cruise Ship Coronavirus Latest
The news has not improved for the thousands of passengers onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship which is currently under quarantine and now, even more passengers have been infected with the deadly Coronavirus.
An additional six cases of the Coronavirus has increased the total of those infected to 70. This also makes it the largest number of Coronavirus cases outside of China. The Japanese Health Ministry has been doing tests on hundreds of guests and crew who have had symptoms of the virus. Princess Cruises has been working closely with the authorities to make sure the situation is as smooth as possible.
Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises president stated:
“Our guests and crew onboard Diamond Princess are the focus of our entire global organization right now and all of our hearts are with each of them.”
“In this unprecedented situation, the Japanese Ministry of Health authorities are working with us collaboratively on additional enhancements, approving new procedures as we adapt our process to the unique challenges of this situation.”
Those infected have been evacuated and taken to hospitals on land for further quarantine and treatment. Princess Cruises has also revealed that an additional 10 people have needed to leave the vessel over the past two days for non-Coronavirus health issues. In partnership with health authorities in Japan, the cruise line is making sure guests received needed medications.
Princess Cruises is taking this unique situation seriously and providing further resources and support to its regional office. President Jan Swartz even proved an update via YouTube as seen below:
In a further effort to support passengers who have been quarantined in their cabins with only limited time outside since the outbreak started, new direct telephone access has been set up for anyone wanting to contact a trained counselor for mental stress in their stateroom.
At the moment the Diamond Princess is still under a 14-day quarantine and that has been announced to end on February 19, 2020. However, if further cases of the virus continue to emerge that date may change. There were originally 2,666 passengers onboard, along with 1,045 crew members. The majority are from Japan but several nationalities are represented, including the United States.
Also Read: Princess Cruise Ship Has 41 New Coronavirus Infections
Currently, there are more than 37,000 people infected around the world and at least 813 have died. The numbers continue to grow and cruise lines are implementing strict health restrictions to minimize the spread of the disease.
