A cruise ship with more than 3,700 people on board has been quarantined in Japan as passengers and crew are being tested for coronavirus after a previous passenger was diagnosed with the disease in Hong Kong.
Eight of those tested are reported to have symptoms.
The Diamond Princess arrived in Yokohama on Monday and screenings of the 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members began in the evening. The departure will now be delayed for at least a day.
Everyone will stay on board until the results are ready.
The 80-year-old former passenger who disembarked the ship in Hong Kong on January 25 and then proved ill reportedly did not seek treatment on board.
”"According to the hospital where he is, his condition is stable and no infection has been detected among his family members who traveled with him," organizer Carnival wrote in a statement.
The ship had already undergone quarantine procedures on Saturday at a port in Naha, also in Japan, at which time the passengers were allowed to disembark.
Since Saturday, Japan has been barring foreign nationals who have recently visited Hubei province, as well as people with passports issued there. The country has flown more than 500 citizens out of the city of Wuhan in the province, where the virus began to spread.
Source: TT
