41 More New Coronavirus Infections Confirmed 'Again' on Japanese Cruise Ship... Total 61 Cases

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] On the 7th, 41 additional infected patients were confirmed on a large Japanese cruise ship that had been quarantined separately off the coast of Yokohama, Japan, after a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) boarded. So far, 61 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported from this cruise ship.

According to NHK and other sources, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that it had completed virus tests on samples taken from 273 of approximately 3,700 passengers and crew aboard the large cruise ship "Diamond Princess," which is anchored off Yokohama Port. As a result, 61 people were confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus. Following 10 confirmed cases on the 5th and 10 on the 6th, 41 additional positive cases were confirmed on this day alone.

The Ministry of Health stated that among the 41 newly confirmed infected patients, 21 are Japanese. The confirmed passengers were sent to medical institutions in Kanagawa Prefecture, which includes Yokohama Port, as well as in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, and Shizuoka Prefectures.

Earlier, the Ministry had collected samples from 273 people among the cruise ship's passengers who had either been in contact with an infected Hong Kong resident or showed symptoms such as fever and cough. This measure was prioritized after an 80-year-old man residing in Hong Kong, who had boarded the cruise ship, was confirmed infected with the novel coronavirus on the 2nd after disembarking in Hong Kong on the 25th of last month. Since the 3rd, health checks have been conducted on all passengers. The remaining passengers and crew are staying on board considering the virus incubation period.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government decided to refuse entry to foreign nationals aboard the Hong Kong-origin cruise ship "Westerdam," where suspected novel coronavirus cases had emerged, as of the previous day. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated at a meeting of the novel coronavirus spread prevention headquarters held at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo the previous night that the same measures would be taken if similar cases are confirmed in the future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.