Coronavirus-hit cruise ship ‘a floating prison’ as 3,700 trapped in rooms with no booze and ‘food running out’
BRITS trapped onboard a luxury cruise ship in Japan have called the vessel a ‘floating prison’ as they wait in quarantine.
The ten people were taken off the boat by medics and have all been tested positive for deadly coronavirus, the country’s health minister said.
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There are fears that the number of those infected on the boat, docked in the port of Yokohama, could surge as the medical screening of thousands of passengers and crew continues.
The 10 confirmed cases were among 31 results from 273 people tested so far, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said on Wednesday morning.
The ten people – two Australians, one American, three guests from Hong Kong, two from Japan and one Filipino crew member – were taken ashore by the Japanese coast guard and sent to nearby hospitals today.
There are around 3,700 passengers and crew aboard the Diamond Princess – a ship owned by British-American firm Carnival Corp.
It was not immediately clear how many people had been screened and how many would undergo testing for the virus which has killed more than 400 and infected over 20,000 globally.
Health officials were testing people who had shown symptoms such as fevers or those who had been in close contact with such people, public broadcaster NHK reports.
A health ministry official said not everyone would be tested because it was too time-consuming and had been deemed unnecessary.
PLAGUE SHIP
The health checks began on Monday evening after an 80-year-old Hong Kong man who sailed on the vessel last month tested positive for the killer bug – which originated from a food market in Wuhan, China.
David Abel, a British holidaymaker on board, confirmed the entire boat was “officially in quarantine” – as he claimed the ship was running out of food.
He said on Facebook: “We are still not being allowed outside of the cabin, we have had one hot drink given to us since this morning. We’ve got bottled water. The meals have completely changed, we are definitely no longer on a luxury cruise.
“We now get a plated meal, breakfast and lunch it’s been a toasted sandwich, rolls, a little desert, a couple of glasses of orange juice.
“Don’t think I’m sounding ungrateful, it’s just such a contrast to the first two weeks of a cruise.
“It’s just like an extended two-week cruise, but it’s not going to be a luxy cruise, it’s going to be a floating prison.
Speaking on Facebook, he wrote: “It appears that our quarantine is on board the ship, that we will not be taken off to a hospital.
“The 10 people that are affected, they are being taken off very soon by the local coastguard into a medical facility. We are to remain on board the ship and we are confined to our cabins.”
He later posted an update on Facebook: “It is 11.20am and we have had no food or drink! This is becoming serious for me as an insulin dependent diabetic.”
Early this morning he posted a photo of his and his wife’s breakfast and captioned it: “First meal in 18 hours. We have now anchored and on our second cruise in Japanese waters. It is going to be tough on rationed food, and with no alcohol!
“No services onboard the ship now. How the crew are going to cope with this beats me. This is a huge challenge for Diamond Princess.
“We are out at sea now converting sea water into drinking water. Ship was running low on water for showers etc.”
Photographs and video posted on Twitter by a passenger showed masked health workers clad in blue plastic gowns walking down empty corridors on the Diamond Princess.
The trapped passenger also posted images showing views of deserted lounges and a barren deck.
Carnival Japan, the local unit of the British-American cruise operator, said on Tuesday the turnaround of the ship had been delayed by about 24 hours.
The company was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the firm said that cruises scheduled to depart from Yokohama and the western port of Kobe this week would be cancelled because of delays related to virus checks.
The new cases bring the total number of confirmed cases in Japan to 33.
