Feb 12 (Japan Times) - The government is planning to allow elderly passengers as well as those with chronic illnesses to leave the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship soon, possibly on Tuesday, a source familiar with the matter said.
The move came a day after 65 more people aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the tally to 135.
All 65 passengers had left the ship for medical facilities by Tuesday afternoon, according to an announcement from inside the vessel that was recorded and posted to Twitter by another passenger. That announcement also appeared to confirm that the elderly and chronically ill were also leaving the ship, saying that guests who had “required medical attention†had disembarked.
The announcement also said that 45 doctors, 55 nurses, 45 pharmacists — most of them volunteers — had arrived on the ship.
The government has asked about 3,600 passengers and crew members to stay on board in Yokohama during the two-week isolation period through Feb. 19 in an effort to contain the spread of the pneumonia-causing novel coronavirus.
The decision to let elderly people and those with chronic illnesses leave was apparently made in consideration of passengers grappling with extreme stress during their prolonged isolation on the ship. As of last Wednesday, about 80 percent of the 2,666 passengers were age 60 or older, with 215 in their 80s and 11 in their 90s.
