COVID-19: CDC statement on Diamond Princess, More cases in Japan, China deaths top 2,000

By NewsDesk @bactiman63

Diamond Princess

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released an update on Diamond Princess Cruise Ship in Japan Tuesday. Here is what they said:

We commend the extraordinary efforts by the Government of Japan to institute quarantine measures onboard the Diamond Princess. While the quarantine potentially conferred a significant public health benefit in slowing transmission, CDC’s assessment is that it may not have been sufficient to prevent transmission among individuals on the ship. CDC believes the rate of new infections on board, especially among those without symptoms, represents an ongoing risk. Therefore, to protect the health of the American public, all passengers and crew of the ship have been placed under travel restrictions, preventing them from returning to the United States for at least 14 days after they had left the Diamond Princess.

Currently, there are more than 100 U.S. citizens still onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship or in hospitals in Japan. These citizens have been placed under the restrictions, as have the ship’s other passengers and crew.

After disembarkation from the Diamond Princess, these passengers and crew will be required to wait 14 days without having symptoms or a positive coronavirus test result before they are permitted to board flights to the United States.

If an individual from this cruise arrives in the United States before the 14-day period ends, they will still be subject to a mandatory quarantine until they have completed the 14-day period with no symptoms or positive coronavirus test results.

Because of their high-risk exposure, there may be additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 among the remaining passengers on board the Diamond Princess.

As of this report, the cases on the cruise ship remain at 542.

Japan

The Japan Ministry of Health reported seven additional COVID-19 cases Tuesday in Wakayama Prefecture, Tokyo and Aichi Prefecture –six patients and one asymptomatic pathogen carrier.

This brings the total cases in Japan to 73, including one fatality.





China update

On Tuesday, Chinese health officials reported 1749 new confirmed cases, 236 severe cases, and 136 new deaths (132 in Hubei, Heilongjiang, 1 in Shandong, Guangdong, and Guizhou respectively).

This brings the total cases in China to 74,185 confirmed cases, including 2,004 deaths.