Two Indians on board Diamond Princess cruise ship test positive for coronavirus

Two Indian crew on board the cruise ship Diamond Princess off the Japanese coast have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Indian Embassy in Japan said on Wednesday (12).

A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew and 6 passengers, were on board the ship.

All the infected people have been taken to hospitals for adequate treatment, including further quarantine, following the Japanese health protocol, it said.

The cruise ship, while being resupplied, remains in quarantine after a number of the 3,700 people on board were diagnosed with coronavirus.

The number of confirmed cases has climbed to 175 as Japanese authorities continue treating people on board.

The new cases bring the total number of infections to at least 200 in Japan, the largest number outside of China.

The cruise ship Diamond Princess with 3,711 people on board arrived at the Japanese coast early last week and was quarantined after a passenger who de-boarded last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the novel virus on the ship.

"Due to the suspicion of COVID-19 infection, the ship has been quarantined by the Japanese authorities till February 19, 2020," the embassy said in a statement.

The Indian Embassy was in constant touch with the Japanese authorities to ensure the welfare of Indian nationals on board the ship as well as the possibility of their early disembarkation, in case they are not found to have tested positive for the virus, it said.

"The Embassy of India in Tokyo has reached out to the Indian nationals through emails and telephone calls and explained to them about the health and safety regulations of Japanese authorities and have requested for cooperation," the statement said.

"None of the Indian nationals has complained of discriminatory treatment meted out to them," it said, adding that the mission has been in constant touch with the ship management company- Princess Cruises (for the crew members) and the employer of six passengers to tie up their travel back to India.