BFF-22 Crew leaves Japan virus-hit ship for new quarantine

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Crew leaves Japan virus-hit ship for new quarantine

TOKYO, Feb 27, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Crew members from a coronavirus-stricken
cruise ship off Japan began leaving the vessel Thursday for a new quarantine
on-shore after passengers left the boat, the government said.

“Today, 240 crew members are leaving the ship and this disembarking
operation will continue for a couple of days,” a health ministry official
told AFP.

Those leaving the boat will be placed in medical observation for 14 days at
government-designated dormitories before being allowed to leave Japan, they
said.

Hundreds of crew members of the Diamond Princess remained on the vessels to
continue operations while Japanese officials placed thousands of passengers
in a quarantine after the ship arrived at a port near Tokyo on February 3.

But the quarantine has been heavily criticised after more than 700 people
on board tested positive for the virus.

Hundreds of passengers who tested negative were allowed to depart the
vessel after the 14-day quarantine on-board, but several have since been
diagnosed with the virus.

The health ministry has also admitted that it allowed some travellers to go
home without testing them during the quarantine period.

The ship carried about 3,700 passengers and crew members when it reached
the port of Yokohama.

Several nations, including the US, Australia and the Philippines, have used
chartered flights to repatriate hundreds of their citizens.

Passengers and crew members who tested positive for the virus have been
sent to hospitals in Japan.

A total of four people who were hospitalised after being taken off the ship
have died.

Several government officials working on the ship have themselves contracted
the infection, but authorities have defended a policy of not uniformly
testing those working on the vessel, arguing that medical experts have the
skills to avoid infections.

Crew who show no symptoms will stay at National Tax College dormitories in
Saitama, near Tokyo, for observation.

Japan’s government used the dorms to conduct a 14-day quarantine of some
Japanese nationals who evacuated from Wuhan and its surrounding areas of
China, the epicentre of the outbreak.

Aside from the cruise ship, Japan has seen at least 186 cases of infections
among the general population. Three deaths related to the virus have been
recorded.

BSS/AFP/MSY/1223 hrs