The number of coronavirus patients on a quarantined cruise ship in Japan has nearly doubled to 136 today after another 66 people tested positive.

The latest batch of test results on the Diamond Princess includes 11 US nationals - taking the total of American cruise ship patients to 23.

There are also 45 Japanese nationals, four Australians, three from the Philippines and one each from Canada and Ukraine. One other is unknown.

At least 10 of the infected passengers are crew members, according to the New York Times.

Confirmed virus patients are being moved to hospitals on the mainland with the 2,500 remaining passengers and 1,045 crew members confined to their cabins and quarters back on the ship.

One British tourist, David Abel, reported from his ninth-deck cabin today that 'depression is starting to set in'.

Holidaymakers are likely to face further tests and health authorities are scrambling to deliver medicine requested by passengers, with the ship expected to remain in quarantine in Yokohama until February 19.

One British patient, Alan Steele, was taken off the ship on Friday but said today that he could be discharged as soon as this week if he is declared free of the virus.

Meanwhile another cruise ship, the Westerdam, has said it will finally dock in Thailand after four countries refused entry despite the crew's insistence that there were no virus cases on board.

Japanese military personnel set up a covered walkway next to the Diamond Princess cruise ship today where thousands of people are in quarantine

The Diamond Princess is anchored off the port of Yokohama today with dozens more cases of coronavirus confirmed on board

Japanese health minister Katsunobu Kato said the government was considering testing everyone on board.

That would require them to remain on the ship until results are available, which can take several days.

Japan initially screened all 3,711 passengers and crew last week after an 80-year-old passenger who left the ship in January was confirmed to have the virus.

Nearly 300 people were selected for further tests because they showed symptoms or had contact with known patients, resulting in 61 initial positive tests.

Since then, the tests have expanded to those who had contact with the infected passengers, producing a spiralling number of confirmed cases.

Today the cruise ship operator said another 66 people had been newly diagnosed, while Japanese officials reported 65 positive tests out of 103 samples. The reason for the discrepancy was unclear.

The number of passengers and crew on board is now 3,622, a health ministry official said.

The confirmed virus patients include British honeymooner Alan Steele, who was separated from his wife Wendy and taken to the mainland on Friday.

Today he wrote on Facebook: 'Doctor has given me the set plan of action for my discharge and as long as I pass the tests I will be free on Friday.

'Would have been Thursday but Japan on holiday tomorrow so no one to do the test results.

'Heard bad news on more cases on ship but possible good news is all will now be tested so if you're free of virus they should let you go.'

Tomorrow, February 11, is National Foundation Day in Japan.

Officials in protective suits walk on board the cruise ship Diamond Princess in Yokohama today

Passengers who remain on the Diamond Princess have been asked to stay inside their cabins and allowed only briefly onto open decks.

They have been asked to wear masks and keep a distance from each other when outside, and given thermometers to regularly monitor their temperatures.

British tourist David Abel, who is on board with his wife Sally, said that 'depression is starting to set in' as the lockdown neared its second week.

'Lots of the passengers now are getting a bit of cabin fever,' he said in one of his frequent Facebook updates.

Another passenger, a 43-year-old Hong Kong resident, said he hoped assurances about the effectiveness of quarantine and ventilation on board would prove true.

'I will get nervous if we pass 200 [cases],' he said.

The ship is expected to stay in quarantine until February 19, two weeks after the isolation period began.

The quarantine has made life on board the ship difficult, particularly for those in windowless interior cabins.

The health ministry said today that around 600 people on board urgently needed medication, and around half received supplies over the weekend.

The Diamond Princess has mostly been anchored in Yokohama Bay where workers in protective suits have delivered supplies on smaller boats.

However, it has also returned to the open sea periodically to collect seawater which can be turned into shower or drinking water.

A passenger stands on the balcony on board the Diamond Princess yesterday with guests facing further tests for coronavirus

Members of the Self Defense Forces prepare a truck to connect to the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship

New supplies of wet wipes and heavy-duty filtration face masks were also delivered to the passengers today.

All the passengers have been offered full refunds for the cruise and told they will not incur any charges during the quarantine.

On board the ship, news of the additional infections sparked worry for some, with passenger Yardley Wong voicing fears of 'stress and high anxiety'.

'I need to cry to get off the anxiety,' she said.

Others sat in their cabins watching the Academy Awards, which were broadcast live on Monday morning.

There are 26 confirmed cases of the new virus in Japan apart from those on board the ship.

The global death toll from the virus yesterday rose to 910, all but two of them in China, after 97 people died on the deadliest day of the outbreak so far.

The virus is believed to have emerged in a market selling wild animals in Wuhan last year before spreading across China.