Coronavirus: Ten more Diamond Princess cruise passengers infected

Ten more passengers infected with coronavirus were taken off the cruise ship Diamond Princess in Yokohama on Thursday.

Aun Na Tan, left, son Xander Soh, husband Jeff Soh and daughter Kaitlyn Soh are in lockdown on the Diamond Princess.

Enforced shipboard life for more than 200 Australians stranded on the stricken Diamond Princess is becoming more tense as 10 more passengers infected with coronavirus were taken off the cruise ship in Yokohama on Thursday.

Holidaymakers ordered to stay in their cabins say they want to know whether their mandatory 14-day quarantine period will be extended, given the doubling to 20 of passengers now stricken with the virus.

Consular assistance is being provided to shipbound Australians, the federal government says.

Former school principal Paul Williamson and his wife, Coralie, from Queensland, said they had been feeling “stir crazy” from their confinement in a tiny cabin with little room to exercise.

He told a Sunshine Coast radio station he and his wife felt lucky to have a balcony cabin: “The fact we can look outside means it’s not as claustrophobic.”

They said they had been given little information since they were woken in the early hours of Wednesday morning by Japanese health officials to have medical checks done. Mr Williamson said they had learnt the infection came from an elderly Chinese man who boarded the ship on January 30 in Okinawa.

The couple were due to leave the ship in Yokohama but have been told to stay inside their cabin. Meals are brought on trays by staff wearing face masks and gloves.

The Diamond Princess docked in Yokohama on Thursday to take the new patients to local hospitals and bring on board pharmaceutical supplies and fresh food.

The ship has 1045 crew and 2666 passengers — including 223 Australians — on board.

Staff and crew on the ship are struggling to deliver meals to more than 1500 cabins, as well as ensuring medical supplies get to people with drug-dependent conditions such as diabetes.

Alana Donaldson, from Launceston, said she watched on-­demand movies and talked to friends on the internet, but her interior cabin had no window “and it’s not much fun”.

Aun Na Tan, her husband and two children from Melbourne are feeling upbeat as they wait out their “captivity” in a four-bunk, ­artificially lit cabin that has no outside vision other than a camera view. “So far, we are being asked to remain in our rooms, so we haven't seen anyone else other than the crew supporting us by bringing our food, bottles of water and soft drinks and taking rubbish away," Ms Tan told the ABC.

“Our family is trying to stay positive and calm.”

British passenger David Abel said a crucial question was whether the news of 10 more infected passengers would extend their own isolation period.

“We are into the second day of a 14-day quarantine — whether this extends that stay we do not know,” he said on his Facebook post.