Infected Filipino crew members on 'Diamond Princess' cruise ship in Yokohama port rise to 11

Infected Filipinos on cruise ship rise to 11
Dona Z. Pazzibugan - February 14, 2020 https://globalnation.inquirer.net/185297/infected-filipinos-on-cruise-sh...

The number of Filipinos aboard the cruise ship Diamond Princess who have tested positive for the new coronavirus has climbed to 11 as of Thursday.

The 11 Filipinos, all crew members of the vessel that is quarantined off Yokohama, Japan, are confined in various hospitals in and around Tokyo, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

They “are responding well to treatment,” the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo reported after a visit to the hospitals on Thursday afternoon.

It said it had sent, in coordination with Japanese authorities, toiletries and nonmedical supplies to the 11 patients and the 527 other Filipinos on the ship.

538 Filipinos aboard

The Diamond Princess, with 3,500 passengers and crew, has been moored off Yokohama since Feb. 3, after it emerged that a former passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong last month had tested positive for the new coronavirus now named COVID-19.

The ship was placed in quarantine shortly afterward, with all passengers and crew told to remain onboard until Feb. 19.

A total of 538 Filipinos are aboard the ship, all crew members except for seven passengers.

There were no Filipinos among the 44 people who tested positive for the new virus on Thursday, according to the DFA. —WITH A REPORT FROM AFP