Four Australians are among 66 new confirmed cases of coronavirus aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship bringing the total number of infected passengers and crew to 135.

A Melbourne woman on the Diamond Princess has described the “scary and shocking” moment she was rushed to hospital after testing positive for coronavirus.

Bianca D’Silva, who is due to celebrate her 21st birthday this weekend, is being treated in a Japanese hospital where her parents and 14-year-old brother are also in isolation pending test results.

The law student is one of 12 Australians struck with the fast-spreading virus on the Diamond Princess, which remains in quarantine off the Japanese port of Yokohama.

Ms D’Silva told Today it was “surreal” to be taken off the ship and rushed to hospital in an ambulance after her diagnosis, which came after she developed fever and headaches.

READ MORE: Follow our coronavirus updates

“We drove two hours away from the port and when we arrived at the hospital there were all these doctors and nurses running around. It was scary,” she said.

“They put me in like a wheelchair and put plastic — sort of like a bubble — around it. And then they were just wheeling me everywhere.

“It is scary. You don’t know what is happening.”

Ms D’Silva’s mother Suzanne said she believed she had passed the virus onto her daughter.

Suzanne told Today said she went to the ship’s medical centre after feeling sick with fever and aches when the ship was first quarantined.

A doctor tested her for flu and the results came back negative.

“I said, ‘Oh, does that mean it is the virus?’ And (the doctor) said, ‘Well, I’m not equipped to test you for coronavirus so at the moment we just treat you on antibiotics,’” she told Today.

“So then I said, ‘I will get my husband and two children, can you please have a look at them and probably treat them with antibiotics too’, which he did.

“So I wasn’t tested for coronavirus at all. And I think I had it and I probably still have it. And I think now I have passed it on to Bianca and probably my husband and son as well, but we are waiting for the test results.”

Ms D’Silva described being sick with the virus as being similar to “your everyday cold”.

“I feel absolutely fine now physically,” she said.

“I had a bit of headaches before and just a slight fever but that’s about it, honestly.

“The thing is, all it is, is one night of fever and then a normal flu ... and then after that, nothing.”

The mother and daughter said they had been in touch with the Australian embassy in Tokyo.

Earlier, Ms D’Silva told Herald Sun being stuck by the virus was something “you never think this is going to happen to you”.

“It’s a bit of a struggle but what can I do,” she said.

“Physically I am fine – it was just like I have the cold.

“Now I just have to wait for it to clear.”

Ms D’Silva’s grandfather Peter Vieyra told the newspaper it was a “very bad” situation when the family was stuck in small cabins during quarantine.

“We are feeling very devastated and terribly sad also,” he said.

“They are all traumatised and mentally and physically exhausted.”

There are about 200 Australians among the 3700 passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess, which has the biggest known cluster of coronavirus cases outside China.

Yesterday Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said he “really felt” for the Australians stuck on the ship, some in cramped cabins with no windows, and that the conditions were so bad a mental health helpline is being set up for stressed out Aussies on board.

Mr Hunt also said he was “deeply aware” of the economic consequences of barring people from crossing the border who has been in mainland China but the risk of coronavirus spreading in Australia was “extraordinary” and drastic measures were needed.

Yesterday Japanese health minister Katsunobu Kato confirmed the new infections on the Diamond Princess.

“Out of 53 new test results (on passengers and crew), 39 people were found positive,” he said.

In a disastrous turn of events, a quarantine official, who had been collecting forms on the vessel, has also tested positive to the virus.

“At this point, we have confirmed that four people, among those who are hospitalised, are in a serious condition, either on a ventilator or in an intensive care unit,” Mr Kato added.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said the government was working to determine whether any Australians were among the new cases.

“We are aware today of reports that there are 40 new cases of coronavirus identified on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama,” Ms Payne said yesterday.

“Our embassy in Tokyo is once again seeking urgent advice from Japanese authorities as to whether there are any Australians among those new cases.

“We have 11 Australians confirmed as testing positive for coronavirus from the Diamond Princess. They have been taken off the ship and to Japanese medical facilities where, of course, they are being cared for and supported.”

Yesterday Mr Vieyra told 3AW radio his granddaughter has just been diagnosed with coronavirus.

“My granddaughter Bianca, tested positive and now she’s in isolation in the hospital and my three other family members are all in isolation wards over there,” he said.

He said Bianca, who is from the Melbourne suburb of Sydenham, had been removed from the ship along with her parents and younger brother, and taken to a hospital about two hours from the port where the ship is in lockdown.

He said Australians on the Diamond Princess hadn’t heard from the government since the ship went under quarantine on February 3.

“These people are in limbo and no one cares about them,” he said.

“That’s how it seems because we’ve had no contact from the government in any way.”

He said his family had been “locked up in these two little rooms, 3x3 perhaps, without any access to clean air or anything”.

The ship remains docked at Yokohama Port near Tokyo, where it has been under quarantine since completing a 14-day tour that included stops at Hong Kong and other Asian ports.

Diamond Princess passengers have described their misery on-board as they were told to remain in their cabins to stop the potential spread of the virus.

Passenger David Abel likened the ship to a “floating prison”.

“We are definitely no longer on a luxury cruise, where we had the superb benefit of eating from a dining room and a choice from the menu – those days are over,” he said last week.

“It’s just an extended two-week cruise, but it’s not going to be a luxury cruise, it’s going to be like a floating prison,” he continued.

“For many passengers it’s going to be absolute boredom.”

Authorities are yet to confirm Ms D’Silva’s case, while Princess Cruises said 11 Australians on board were affected.

“We are following guidance from the Japan Ministry of Health on plans for disembarkation protocols to provide medical care for these new cases,” it said.

“Since it is early in the quarantine period of 14 days, it was not unexpected that additional cases would be reported involving individuals who were exposed prior to the start of the quarantine.” The quarantine end date remains February 19 unless there are any unforeseen developments.

Princess Cruises has confirmed all guests aboard the cruise will be refunded their fare, including air travel, hotel, ground transportation and other expenses.