Passengers on cruise ships across East Asia are finding their luxury liners are turning into prison hulks as nations deny them entry for fear of the coronavirus, leaving the wandering vessels with few ports to visit.
Japan has vowed to turn away foreign passengers on the incoming Westerdam and Taiwan has refused to admit 29 foreign passengers on board the Super Star Aquarius, forcing the vessel to return to its previous port. No cases have been confirmed on either ship.
The increasingly severe measures to try to halt the spread of the lethal virus come as Japan announced it had identified another 41 cases of the pathogen on board the Diamond Princess, in quarantine off Yokohama, where it is based.
That took the total of cases on the vessel to 61, which meant Japan now has the largest number of cases outside China, and demonstrates how easily the virus spreads in a confined environment.
Princess Cruises, which owns the Diamond Princess, said the latest confirmed cases included passengers from Japan, the US, Australia, Canada, Argentina and the UK.
David Abel, a British passenger on board the vessel broadcasting via Facebook, said the ship’s captain was not being allowed to share news of the diagnoses even as ambulances arrived to evacuate the patients.
“Why are the Japanese health authority releasing the information to the world and not permitting the captain to tell his people?” he said. “To me it’s just wrong.”
Mr Abel demanded to know whether the clock on the ship’s 14-day quarantine would restart after the new cases were found and whether he would have to be quarantined again on an eventual return to the UK.
Linda Ip, a 62-year-old passenger from Hong Kong on board the Diamond Princess, said she was staying positive because the latest diagnoses were all from a batch of passengers who had either showed symptoms or had close contact with those who did.
“This is a high-level isolation camp, with food and drink, service, a nice warm bed and pillows — just lack of freedom and fear of germs,” she said. With about 3,700 people on board, the passengers on the Diamond Princess have been told to self-quarantine in their cabins.
Ms Ip said passengers in cabins with no balcony were being allowed out on deck in batches but told to wear masks and keep a metre away from one another. They have also been asked to start taking their temperature regularly.
Michelle Au, a 53-year-old passenger from Hong Kong, praised the crew of the Diamond Princess. “Honestly, the food quality of this cruise ship is really good. It’s really not bad given they have to deliver to 2,600 passengers room by room.”
She said they had live TV, movies and internet in their cabins. “We’ve come to accept it as an extension of our holiday,” she said.
But there remains deep uncertainty about when and where any passengers on the cruise ships will be allowed to disembark. The Holland America Line said it was working on other plans after Tokyo declared it would not allow the Westerdam to call at Japanese ports.
The Super Star Aquarius, based in Keelung in northern Taiwan, operates short cruises to Japan. It was expected back on Friday with 1,738 passengers on board, 1,709 of whom are Taiwanese. But it was told the other passengers, who are mainly from the Philippines, would not be allowed to enter the country.
According to a local spokesperson for Star Cruises, the ship was located in waters off Naha in Okinawa. However, it was not clear whether Japan would admit the non-Taiwanese passengers either.
Once the ship returned to Keelung, all 1,709 local passengers would have their temperature taken before disembarking. Even if nobody showed symptoms, all would be required to self-quarantine at home for 14 days.
A fourth vessel, the World Dream, is being held in Hong Kong with thousands of people on board after passengers who previously travelled on the ship were diagnosed with coronavirus. Hong Kong’s department of health said on Friday that there were no confirmed cases on the boat.
With additional reporting by Alice Woodhouse in Hong Kong
"asian" - Google News
February 07, 2020 at 01:00PM
https://ift.tt/39dr1I9
Coronavirus turns Asian cruise ships into prison hulks - Financial Times
"asian" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2STmru2
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment