218 people aboard the Diamond Princes have tested positive for Coronavirus

Passengers on a cruise ship struck by the deadly coronavirus have been told they can leave quarantine early, despite the number of infections rising daily.

Another 44 people aboard the Diamond Princess have tested positive for the disease today, bringing the total number of cases to 218 and making it the largest outbreak outside mainland China.

The cruise liner has been docked in Japan’s Yokohama since February 4, but questions are rising about the effectiveness of the lock-down.

Authorities in Japan said that elderly passengers could be moved off the ship if they test negative for the virus, and be quarantined in government housing instead.


Questions are being raised about the effectiveness of the quarantine amid spiralling numbers (Picture:EPA)

People who have been tested negative have been offered the choice to leave the ship and enter government housing (Picture: PA)

Health minister Katsunobu Kato said: ‘On the ship, there are those of advanced age and with pre-existing conditions.



‘There are also those who are having to stay in rooms with no windows until the incubation period finishes.

‘We will conduct… tests for those who are high-risk and if they test negative, those who wish to disembark can go and live in a lodging facility that the government will prepare.’

The announcement means some holidaymakers can leave the ship six days earlier than planned.

The spiralling number of cases has caused panic among some passengers, who have tried to keep their spirits up amid the growing coronavirus crisis.

British passengers David and Sally Abel told Good Morning Britain today that people on the ship were starting to feel worried about being split up from their loved ones if they test positive for the disease.

David and Sally Abel say they are worried about the number of cases on the ship (Picture: David Abel)

American passenger Paul Molesky gets a DNA swab test in his cabin room on the Diamond Princess as medics ramp up tests (Picture: AP/ Cheryl and Paul Molesky)

Cheryl Molesky and Paul Molesky film selfie video on the balcony of the Diamond Princess. They have been trying to stay positive amid the rising coronavirus cases (Picture: AP/ Cheryl and Paul Molesky)

Mr Abel said: ‘It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been married, couples have been separated.

‘Elderly couples, one I understand in their eighties, have been split up. It’s very very worrying for those on board.’

Mrs Abel added: ‘We’ve been together 50 years and the thought of one of us being positive and one not and being split is very scary.’

However, others are choosing to stay calm and have defended the cruise liner’s ‘A-plus’ handling of the outbreak.

Matthew Smith, from California, said leaving the ship might be an attractive option for those with an interior cabin, but he was choosing to stay put in his suite

He tweeted: ‘For those in the Twitter-verse who continue to believe passengers on the ship are not safe: You have no basis for concluding that the virus had spread since the quarantine was imposed. None. Zero. Zip. Nada.’





leave the ship for the remainder of your quarantine (see previous tweets), “the meals provided will be bento-style boxes.”. Maybe that would be okay for those escaping an interior cabin, but for our part, we’ll stay right where we are. — Matthew Smith (@mjswhitebread) February 13, 2020





Wishes for a swift recovery to all evacuees from the ship. Meanwhile, how about some more pictures of food? (The crowd goes wild.) Today’s meals included smoked salmon mousse, cheese ravioli, nasi goreng, smoked duck salad, pork curry, and cod. ð to all. pic.twitter.com/uaMTukYRGf — Matthew Smith (@mjswhitebread) February 12, 2020

American couple Cheryl and Paul Molesky, from New York, have also been keeping their spirits up by documenting daily life on the ship for their YouTube channel.

Their latest video shows Mr Molesky being tested for coronavirus, with the medic telling him all passengers over 75, along with their neighbours, will be included in the next round of screenings.

The ship has been anchored in Yokohama since February 4 (Picture: EPA)

Medics initially screened all 3,711 passengers after a man in his 80s who had left the ship tested positive for coronavirus in January.

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 cases.



Three Brits are known to be among the 218 people infected so far, including honeymooner Alan Steele who was taken to hospital on the mainland.

Paul and Cheryl Molesky have been trying to enjoy themselves despite the circumstances (Picture: AP/ Cheryl and Paul Molesky)

15 crew members have also fallen ill with the novel disease, 11 of whom are from the Philippines.

Family members fear they have been forgotten about and say staff on the ship feel ‘scared and helpless’.

Coronavirus has killed over 1,000 people since emerging in Wuhan, China in December.

The majority of the deaths have been in Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak, where some 50 million people are on lock-down.

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