Coronavirus: Brisbane couple, other Australians on board quarantined Princess Cruises ship in Japan

Two Australians are among 10 people to have tested positive to coronavirus aboard a cruise ship off Japan, as 3700 passengers and crew are trapped on board in mandatory quarantine.

TWO Australians are among 10 people who have tested positive to the Wuhan coronavirus on board a cruise ship, anchored off Yokohama, Japan.

The 10 people are being taken ashore and transported to local Japanese hospitals.

More than 200 Australians are on the Diamond Princess, including at least one Brisbane couple.

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They are among about 3700 passengers and crew who have been placed in mandatory quarantine for 14 days.

The quarantining of the cruise ship comes as the confirmed death toll from the virus nears 500. More than 24,000 people have been infected since it emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December.

Workers in protective gear hold up a sheet as a passenger is transferred into a waiting ambulance in Yokohama, Japan. Picture: Kazuhiro NOGI, AFP

So far, 13 people have tested positive to the novel coronavirus in Australia, including three people in Queensland, all Chinese tourists.

The trio were all part of a nine-member Chinese tour group, which arrived on the Gold Coast from Melbourne on January 27.

All nine are in isolation in the Gold Coast University Hospital.

The latest Queensland case is an eight-year-old boy, the youngest person confirmed as having the illness in Australia.