Dozens more people on a cruise ship quarantined in a Japanese port tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday and thousands of passengers remained confined to their cabins, only allowed on deck briefly for fresh air, Trend reports citing Reuters.
The Diamond Princess, operated by Princess Cruises, was placed on a two-week quarantine on arriving at Yokohama on Monday after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus.
Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told a news conference 41 people on the ship had tested positive for coronavirus on Friday, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 61. Twenty one of the new cases were Japanese.
Those infected were moved to hospitals in Tokyo and neighboring towns, the Health Ministry said. Blue and white tarpaulin sheets were hung up to screen them from the view of other passengers.
About 3,700 people are aboard the Diamond Princess, which usually has a crew of 1,100 and a passenger capacity of 2,670.