Diamond Princess ship quarantine lifted, experts concerned

Posted by Anita Froneman on 19 February 2020

Passengers on the British cruise ship Diamond Princess, operated by Princess Cruises have finally been allowed to disembark after a 14-day quarantine in the port of Yokohama, near Tokyo. The ship was quarantined after some passengers tested positive for the coronavirus.

A total of 545 confirmed cases of the virus have been linked to the ship, with 88 new cases confirmed on Tuesday, 18 February and one new case was confirmed today, 19 February according to CNN.

The disembarkation will take several days, after which passengers are allowed to travel freely.

However, health experts are concerned, saying the chances of people carrying the virus despite having tested negative is high, as 14 evacuated American passengers developed symptoms only after leaving the ship according to CNN.

‘The CDC [US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] believes the rate of new infections on board, especially among those without symptoms, represents an ongoing risk,’ it said in a statement released Tuesday.

Also read: How the coronavirus affects your travel plans

Image: Twitter






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