Published 12:13 IST, February 13th 2020
Indian crew members in Japan's quarantined cruise ship appeal to PM Modi for evacuation
In video recorded from the cruise ship Diamond Princess, an Indian crew member, Binay Kumar Sarkar, appealed to the Indian govt and the UN to segregate Indians
In a video recorded from the cruise ship Diamond Princess, an Indian crew member, Binay Kumar Sarkar, appealed to the Indian government and the UN to segregate the Indians on board on an urgent basis.
Sarkar, a chef from Bengal, said in Hindi: "None of them have been checked (for coronavirus)." He was flanked by five of his Indians colleagues who were wearing masks. "Please somehow save us as soon as possible. What's the point if something happens (to us)...I want to request the government of India and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi-ji, please segregate us and bring us back home safely," he said.
The Diamond Princess was placed in quarantine for two weeks on arriving in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Feb. 3, after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus. The Indian mission in Japan had on February 12 said that two Indian crew onboard the cruise ship quarantined off Japanese coast have tested positive of the deadly coronavirus. The Japanese health ministry had also informed that 175 cases of coronavirus was confirmed in the ship.
Coronavirus and its outbreak
The outbreak of the deadly virus took place in China's Wuhan in January. While the Chinese doctor, reprimanded by police after warning colleagues about the disease, died after falling ill, countries have started evacuating their citizens from China and have been issuing travel advisory. The virus was officially named 'COVID-19' at a conference in Geneva held by the World Health Organisation, and was declared a 'global public health emergency'.
India in February, evacuated 645 people from Hubei, the province worst-hit by the coronavirus. People were lodged at the quarantine facilities set up by the Army and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in and around Delhi, and the Union Health Ministry last week informed that they have been tested negative. India has also reported three confirmed cases from Kerala. While the worldwide death toll due to coronavirus is 1,369, there are currently 60,376 confirmed cases in 28 countries.
Updated 12:13 IST, February 13th 2020