Coronavirus: Cases double on Diamond Princess overnight, still in lockdown

A further 10 passengers have coronavirus on the Diamond Princess cruise.

The number of passengers on a luxury cruise liner with coronavirus has doubled overnight.

A further 10 passengers tested positive to coronavirus, in addition to the 10 cases identified on Wednesday.

The latest passengers to fall ill with the virus are four people from Japan, one guest from Taiwan, two from the US, two from Canada and one from New Zealand.

Carnival Australia confirmed that the guests will be transported to local hospitals immediately.

The cruise ship has been put into lockdown with 3700 people aboard.

Another 73 people on the Chinese mainland died on Wednesday from the coronavirus outbreak, the highest daily increase so far, bringing the total death toll to 563, the country’s health authority said on Thursday.

The National Health Commission said another 3694 coronavirus cases were reported throughout the country on February 5, bringing the total to 28,018.

There have been two deaths outside mainland China, both following visits to Wuhan. A man in the Philippines died last week and a 39-year-old man with underlying illness died in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

The outbreak of the virus means that people on-board the cruise ship will face at least two weeks locked away on the Diamond Princess anchored off Japan after health officials confirmed that 20 people aboard, including two Australians, had tested positive for the virus.

In Hong Kong, about 3600 passengers and crew were confined to their cruise ship, the World Dream, docked in the city during tests for the virus after three people on board had earlier tested positive.

Medical workers lead a passenger who tested positive for a new coronavirus from the cruise ship. Picture: AP

The Diamond Princess in Japan has turned into a virtual floating prison with health officials roaming the empty decks dressed from head-to-toe in blue protective clothing and passengers struggling to cope with food shortages and the prospect of two weeks confined to their cabins.

This is the new front in the ­global battle against the deadly Wuhan coronavirus.

Passengers have used social media to describe eerie scenes on the “ghost ship” and express frustration at deteriorating conditions.

A further 221 Australians are among the remaining 3700 passengers and crew restricted to their cabins aboard the vessel, which has briefly returned to sea after being anchored in Yokohama bay since Tuesday.

American couple Richard Bowes, 65, and Jaqueline Kineavy, 51, have already been aboard the ship since January 6.

Richard Bowes and his wife Jaqueline Kineavy, from Massachusetts, are stuck on-board the Diamond Princess.

Most of the voyage, which began in Singapore, had been a relaxing escape from the Massachusetts winter until Tuesday morning when the corona­virus announcement blared through the loudspeakers.

“It was like getting a kick in the stomach,” Mr Bowes told The Australian. “We have been on this ship for 29 days already. I’m ready to go home.”

Mr Bowes said his daily morning macchiato in the ship’s grand cafe was now a long-forgotten luxury and the banquet buffet a far cry from the packaged meals now being delivered to each room.

The small balcony attached to his room was offered the only ­reprieve from the confines of the cabin. “We are lucky to have a balcony, I can’t imagine what it would be like for those without one,” Mr Bowes said.

Cairns couple Paul and Jackie Fidrmuc told Nine News that authorities were concerned there would be more people infected aboard the ship.

Paul and Jacqueline Fidrmuc on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was quarantined off Japan due to coronavirus.

“That’s the biggest worry, that there may be other people who have the virus but it hasn’t yet come out,” Ms Fidrmuc said.

A second cruise ship was also under lockdown after docking in Hong Kong with 3600 passengers and crew aboard. Authorities said three people had tested positive for coronavirus. It was not clear how long those aboard the World Dream, operated by Dream ­Cruises, would be confined to the ship, which ­arrived in the Chinese territory after being denied permission to dock in Taiwan’s southern port of Kaohsiung.

Chief executive Carrie Lam said that Hong Kong’s two cruise terminals, Kai Tak and Ocean Terminal, would suspend operations immediately, while all visitors from mainland China would face compulsory quarantine. “These measures are stringent,” Lam said.

Dream Cruises, which is operated by Genting Hong Kong, said the three confirmed cases of the virus had disembarked in the Chinese city of Guangzhou on January 24.

Hong Kong on Wednesday night announced everyone arriving from mainland China would be quarantined for 14 days, starting from Saturday.

The World Dream cruise ship, docked at the Kai Tak cruise terminal in Hong Kong.

Japanese authorities are scrambling to determine the source of the Diamond Princess outbreak, which was first detected in an 80-year-old passenger who ­departed the ship in Hong Kong last week. The majority of the ship’s passengers are from Japan, while there were also large groups from China and Australia.

The ship departed Yokohama two weeks ago, travelling to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam. It successfully passed through a quarantine checkpoint as it re-­entered Japanese waters, where it was given a health clearance.

Within days, the outbreak on the ship became apparent after the 80-year-old passenger, who departed in Hong Kong without symptoms but later fell ill, tested positive to coronavirus. Tests on Tuesday revealed the virus had spread throughout the ship.

Cruise ship Diamond Princess is anchored off the shore of Yokohama, south of Tokyo. Picture: AP

A Princess Cruises spokesman refused to say what the home state was of the two infected Australians, citing privacy concerns. The other passengers to test positive for coronavirus were three from Japan, three from Hong Kong, and one guest from the US, in addition to one Filipino crew member.

British passenger David Abel said the medical assessment of each passenger lasted around 45 seconds. “(They) came in, introduced themselves, took our temperature, asked three questions: ‘have we got a cough, have we got a fever, do we take medication to lower temperature’, and out they go,” Mr Abel said.

What initially seemed like a delightful proposition to Mr Abel — another two weeks of cruising — quickly turned to horror as the ­reality of cramped conditions set in.

Mr Abel, who has been uploading videos about the situation to his Facebook page, said the predicament had become increasingly desperate as the crew struggled to provide food to passengers.

An insulin-dependent diabetic, Mr Abel said crew members had told him the food supply could not be ruled out as a source of the virus. “We have not eaten since seven last night and it’s now 11 in the morning,” he said.

But in his latest video, Mr Abel said emails sent by friends and family to Princess Cruiselines had rectified the situation. “We have had waiters come into the room offering us meals so frequently, it’s been unbelievable. We had to turn the last meal away because we just weren’t ready for it so soon after lunch,” he said.

A spokesman from Princess Cruises, which is owned by Carnival Corporation, said there were 2666 passengers and 1045 crew aboard the ship. The ship will be confined to the Yokohama region for the next 14 days.

 

 

“The ship plans to go out to sea to perform normal marine operations, including, but not limited to, the production of freshwater and ballast operations before proceeding alongside in Yokohama where food, provisions, and other supplies will be brought on board,” the spokesman said.

“Guests will continue to be ­provided complimentary internet and telephone to use in order to stay in contact with their family and loved ones, and the ship’s crew is working to keep all guests comfortable. Princess Cruises will continue to fully co-operate with, and follow the instructions of, global medical authorities and the Japanese government.”

Outside China, there were 205 confirmed cases in 25 countries, including in Australia where there were 14 cases — four in NSW and Victoria, four in Queensland, two in South Australia.

The fourth case in Queensland was confirmed on Wednesday night. The 37-year-old man, a Chinese national from Wuhan, is isolated in the Gold Coast University Hospital. He was among a nine-person tour group that included a 44-year-old man, a 42-year-old woman and an eight-year-old boy, all of whom previously tested positive for the virus. They travelled to Queensland from Victoria on a Tigerair flight on January 27.