Two more Indians on board aquarantined cruise ship off Japan have tested positive for the novel coronavirus,the Indian Embassy said on Sunday, as it assured that it will provide allpossible assistance to its nationals on the ship to return home after theyclear all tests.
A total of 138 Indians, including 132crew and 6 passengers, were among the 3,711 people on board the ship, DiamondPrincess, that arrived at the Japanese coast earlier this month. The totalnumber of people infected with COVID-19 on the ship rose to 355 on Sunday."Over the last 2 days, 137 new cases on #DiamondPrincess tested positivefor #COVID-19, including two Indian nationals, taken toonshore medical facilities for treatment. Three other Indian crew members,receiving treatment are responding well, with no fever or pain," theIndian Embassy in Tokyo said in a Twitter post.
Earlier, three Indian crew memberstested positive for the virus and are receiving treatment. On Saturday, theembassy had said that the condition of the three Indians infected with thevirus was improving.
In another post, the Indian Embassysaid that the final tests for the COVID-19on the ship would begin on February 17 and continue over multiple days. Theship was quarantined after a passenger who de-boarded last month in Hong Kongwas found to be the carrier of the COVID-19 on the ship.
"Hoping our Indian nationals –braving the situation, to test negative, allowing them to travel back HOME.@IndianEmbTokyo stands ready for all possible assistance," the Indianembassy said. Efforts were being made for the early de-boarding of all Indiansfrom the ship after the end of the quarantine period, the embassy said, addingdiscussions with the Japanese government and the ship management company wason.
The embassy has also sent an email to all the Indian nationals on board the ship, assuring them of all help and assistance. The Japanese government on Thursday announced that passengers aged 80 or older will be given the option to disembark the ship if they test negative for COVID-19. Those who meet the age requirement and have pre-existing conditions or are staying in rooms without a balcony will be prioritized for disembarkation.
The death toll from China'scoronavirus epidemic climbed to 1,665 after 142 more people died, mostly in theworst-hit Hubei Province, and the confirmed cases jumped to 68,500, officialssaid on Sunday. Many countries have banned arrivals from China while majorairlines have suspended flights to the country. Meanwhile, India's ambassadorto China, Vikram Misri, in a Twitter post said India will send a consignment ofmedical supplies. In a video posted on the official Twitter handle of theIndian embassy in China, Misri also expressed his solidarity with Chinesepeople and the government in the fight against the epidemic.
"As a concrete step to tackle the outbreak, India will soon send a consignment of medical supplies to aid and assist China in tackling this outbreak," he said in the video, adding, "This is a concrete measure which will fully demonstrate the goodwill, solidarity, and friendship of the people and government of India with the Chinese people."
India had evacuated more than 600 of its nationals from Wuhan and Hubei province earlier this month along with seven Maldivian nationals. More than 400 of those brought in from Hubei were found to be free from any infections, a report quoting an Indo-Tibetan Border Police official said. India so far has reported three positive cases of COVID-19 infection.
