Published 12:09 IST, February 21st 2020
Coronavirus outbreak: 2 elderly passengers die on quarantined Japan cruise ship
Two elderly passengers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked near Tokyo died of deadly coronavirus epidemic on February 20, as per Japanese government.
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Two elderly passengers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked near Tokyo died of deadly coronavirus epidemic on February 20, according to the Japanese government. According to the reports, hundreds of more passengers quarantined disembarked after a period of 14 days. The 621 coronavirus cases aboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner is the largest cluster of infection outside China. The ship has been quarantined since February 3 with initially 3,700 people on board. The health ministry said that two patients who died, an 87-year-old man and an 84-year-old woman, had both tested positive for the deadly pandemic and the woman's cause of death was listed as pneumonia, the health ministry confirmed.
27 onboard are in serious condition
It added that two government officials who worked on the ship were infected bringing the total number of infected officials to five.
According to a public broadcaster, 27 people on the ship were in serious condition. The quarantine measure has sparked criticism and anger of Japan's authorities just months before Tokyo is due to host the Summer Olympics. The infected on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship account for more than half of all the cases outside mainland China, the World Health Organization had said on Wednesday.
Kentaro Iwata criticised government
Reportedly, a Japanese infectious disease specialist Kentaro Iwata has criticized the way the government has handled the crisis in Diamond Princess. In a YouTube video, Iwata decried abysmal hygiene conditions in the ship “violating all infection control principles”. His claims had inflamed an already intense debate over Japan’s handling of the crisis. In a statement released by the Japanese health ministry, the government defended its actions aboard the Diamond Princess and also listed the extensive measure it had taken to stop the spread of Coronavirus. The ministry in its statement said that the crew has been instructed to wear a mask and gloves at all time, wash their hands at regular intervals and ensuring that they eat their meals at a safe distance from one another.
Updated 12:09 IST, February 21st 2020