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VIRUS-JAPAN-HEALTH-CHINA-SHIP-TOLL,LEAD
Third passenger from Japan cruise ship dies: health ministry
TOKYO, Feb 23, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A third passenger has died after
contracting the coronavirus on a cruise ship that was quarantined off Japan,
the country’s health ministry said on Sunday.
In a statement, the ministry identified the victim as a Japanese man in his
80s who was also suffering from other ailments.
He was removed from the Diamond Princess and taken to a local hospital
after testing positive for COVID-19, the statement said, without giving
details on when he tested positive or where he was being treated.
The man’s cause of death was given as pneumonia, the statement added.
The death comes after two other elderly passengers, also both Japanese and
in their 80s, died on Thursday after contracting the virus.
Despite a quarantine imposed on the Diamond Princess, more than 600 people
on board tested positive for the virus, with several dozen in serious
condition.
In total, Japan has so far recorded four deaths linked to the new
coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 130 people excluding those
linked to the Diamond Princess.
BSS/AFP/RY/1755 hrs