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Friday, February 21, 2020, 15:23
Australia: 2 evacuees from Japan cruise ship have coronavirus
By Reuters
Friday, February 21, 2020, 15:23 By Reuters

Workers in protective clothes stand before the Diamond Princess cruise ship the at Daikoku pier cruise terminal in Yokohama, Japan, on Feb 21, 2020. (PHILIP FONG / AFP)

SYDNEY/TOKYO - Two Australians evacuated from a cruise ship in Japan have tested positive for a novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 disease after returning to their home country, Australia’s health department said on Friday.

Australia on Thursday evacuated 170 citizens from the Diamond Princess, owned by Carnival Corp, who had been confined to their cabins since Feb 3 when the vessel was quarantined at Yokohama, south of the capital, Tokyo.

Six people were identified as having minor respiratory symptoms and, or fever. Two of those people have since tested positive for COVID-19 infection

Australia's Health Department

After arriving in Australia’s tropical north where they will spend the next 14 days in quarantine, all passengers were screened and those complaining of being unwell were tested for COVID-19.

“Six people were identified as having minor respiratory symptoms and, or fever,” the Australian Health Department said in an emailed statement.

“Two of those people have since tested positive for COVID-19 infection.”

ALSO READ: One more HK cruise passenger confirmed to be infected

Di Stephens, a health official in the Northern Territory, declined to identify the Australians, but said both will be relocated to hospitals near their homes.

“Those people remain well and mildly ill with cold-like symptoms and they do not necessarily need to be in the hospital system, but more than likely will enter the hospital system in their home states,” Stephens told reporters in Darwin.

Australia’s chief medical officer Brendan Murphy said the virus could spread, particularly to those in close proximity to the patients on board the Qantas flight.

Australia now has 17 cases of coronavirus, though several dozens citizens remain on the Diamond Princess in Japan after contracting the disease while on the cruise ship

Murphy declined to identify the patients, adding that “one is an older person, one is a younger person”.

Australia now has 17 cases of coronavirus, though several dozens citizens remain on the Diamond Princess in Japan after contracting COVID-19 while on the cruise ship.

Australia had not had a case of coronavirus since Feb 1.

On Thursday, two elderly passengers became the first people from aboard the Diamond Princess to die of COVID-19, the Japanese government said.

Two government officials who had worked on the ship were infected, said the health ministry, bringing the number of infected officials to five.

READ MORE: Japan confirms 2 deaths from virus, 2 more officials infected

More than 600 aboard the cruise liner have been infected with the virus. 

Hundreds of Japanese and foreign passengers were set to disembark on Friday. More than 1,000 passengers and crew will remain aboard after Friday’s disembarkations.

About 100 passengers will be transferred ashore in coming days for further quarantine because they were in close quarters with infected travelers.

The Japanese government's handling of the situation on the cruise liner has sparked criticism.

More than 1,000 passengers and crew will remain aboard the Diamond Princess as hundreds of passengers were set to disembark on Friday

Chief cCabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Friday defended the government’s handling of those aboard the cruise ship as appropriate. 

Suga faced questions about one of the two former passengers on the ship who died, an 84-year-old woman who developed a fever on Feb 5 but was not tested for the virus until a week later.

“The woman was removed from the ship on the 12th after the fever continued for days,” he said. “A decision was made not to wait for the test results before moving her to hospital to protect the health of those remaining on the ship.”

ALSO READ: Japan targets HIV drug trials to fight coronavirus

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