TOKYO, Feb 19, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Several hundred passengers who have
endured torrid 14-day quarantine aboard a coronavirus-riddled cruise ship in
Japan are set to disembark Wednesday — if they have tested negative.
The Diamond Princess moored in Yokohama near Tokyo has proved a fertile
breeding ground for the virus with at least 542 positive cases, and Japan has
come under fire for its handling of the quarantine arrangements.
The initial 3,700 passengers and crew on board from 56 nations have seen a
dream cruise turn into a nightmare as they battled fear and crushing boredom
on the vessel, some confined to small windowless cabins apart from brief
periods of exercise on deck.
“If you and your roommate are both negative and have no fever or
respiratory symptoms, you will be able to prepare for disembarkation,”
Japanese officials told passengers in a letter, adding it would take at least
three days to process everyone.
For the travellers, this means a painful wait for test results that can
take several days to evaluate.
“We still need our test results, so we’re holding off any celebration
yet,” US lawyer Matt Smith told AFP from on board. “The feeling is anxious.”
British passenger David Abel, who became a minor celebrity with his upbeat
video messages in the early days of the quarantine, typified the mood shift
aboard.
“It’s all getting to us now and it’s not just me, it’s the other
passengers as well. It’s the not-knowing factor that is the real challenge.
Mentally, it’s now taking its toll. Right now, it’s very hard to remain
focused on anything,” he said.
He later announced that he and his wife Sally had tested positive.
– ‘Special containment area’ –
The Diamond Princess ship is easily the biggest cluster of positive cases
outside the Chinese epicentre, with more people succumbing to the virus than
in the rest of the world put together.
With dozens of new positive cases daily, questions have been raised about
the effectiveness of the quarantine measures, with passengers allowed to
mingle on deck with face masks, and crews passing from cabin to cabin with
meals.
“Clearly there has been more transmission than expected on the ship,” said
Michael Ryan, head of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies
Programme.
Japanese authorities are now “taking the necessary public health measures
with other countries to evacuate people and deal with the follow-up in a
different way,” he said.
Several countries appeared to lose patience with the on-board quarantine
and announced they would send chartered planes to bring back their citizens.
In the first such evacuation on Sunday, more than 300 Americans flew home
even though 14 of the passengers had tested positive. They were separated
from others in a “special containment area.”
However, more than 100 Americans still remain on the Diamond Princess, the
US Centers for Disease Control said.
Early Wednesday, South Korea flew six of its nationals plus a Japanese
spouse to Seoul, who will be placed in isolation for 14 days, the Yonhap news
agency reported.
The other eight South Koreans who remain onboard will be evacuated if they
test negative, it said.
And Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said his country
would evacuate virus-free nationals via plane by the end of the week and
place them in quarantine for 14 days.
Of the 256 Canadian passengers aboard, 43 have been confirmed to have the
virus and will be transferred to the Japanese health system, the Canadian
government said.
Britain, Hong Kong and Australia are among other countries that have vowed
to repatriate people from the ship but will insist on a further 14-day
quarantine period on home soil.
Around 500 people are expected to leave Wednesday, with more following in
the coming days, but not everyone will be allowed to get off so soon.
Anyone who has come into contact with someone who later proved positive
has their 14-day quarantine period “reset.”
In addition, the crew will begin a quarantine when the last passenger has
disembarked.
Many crew members have refused to speak to media for fear of losing their
jobs, but some have broken their silence to voice worries over their
conditions, as they work and eat together and sleep several to a cabin.
People in Yokohama appeared supportive of the decision to allow the
passengers out despite the virus fears.
“I am sure those people on board must be really worried. I hope they can
go back to their normal life soon,” said 51-year-old Isamu Habiro.
“As a Yokohama resident, I don’t want them to be treated unfairly. I want
to cheer for them,” Habiro told AFP.