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Spike in coronavirus cases on locked down cruise ship

Five Australians are among another 41 people on a cruise liner off Japan to test positive for coronavirus, spiking the total cases confirmed on the ship.

There are now 61 people confirmed to have the deadly virus, including seven Australians, from the Diamond Princess ship which is currently docked at Yokohama in Japan.

The jump in infected passengers on the cruise liner comes as the vessel was under a two-week quarantine with about 3,700 people in it.

The new cases were out of the 171 remaining test results, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters.

The rise in the number of infections shifts the mood for thousands of passengers stuck in the cruise who were allowed to breathe air on open decks on Thursday.

Kato said that the new patients would be transported to hospitals in Tokyo and other towns.

Another 41 people on the cruise liner have tested positive for coronavirus. Source: AAP
Another 41 people on the cruise liner have tested positive for coronavirus. Source: AAP

Live TV footage shows blue and white hoardings put up in the vessel where passengers diagnosed with the virus are moved out to medical facilities.

The new cases take the total number of coronavirus infections in Japan to more than 80.

The remainder of the passengers and crew on board the ship have been placed in quarantine.

"I want to take sufficient care of the health of passengers and crew and make every effort to prevent the spread of the virus," Mr Kato told reporters on Wednesday.

Vera Koslova Fu has been in lockdown in her cabin on the Diamond Princess since Tuesday and has had to stay separately to her sons.

“I don't know whether I am allowed to hug my boys. We have been instructed that we need to stay a metre away from others, but I am hoping they will make allowances because I haven't seen my boys since Tuesday,” she told ABC on Friday.

The mother expressed concern over the amount of recycled air she had been breathing on the ship, and was distressed due to not knowing if she and her children would be safe from the virus.

“Not only are we locked in, cabin fever is starting to set in but we are also in the dark, and we are constantly speculating over if we going to be saved, or if we are going to be infected,” she said.

Vera Koslova-Fu is on the cruise and staying separately to her children. Source: SBS News
Vera Koslova-Fu is on the cruise and staying separately to her children. Source: SBS News

“I am in my early 50s, in fairly good health, but I can't say that I am immune to the virus at all, so it's really important that we do get more help.”

She said her and her husband had been given thermometers by cruise staff as well as face masks and disposable gloves.

Australian couple from Queensland Paul and Jacqui Fidrmuc are on board the cruise and are anxiously awaiting results of their tests for the virus.

"The concern we have is we might have the virus and we don't have the symptoms," Mr Fidrmuc said on Thursday.

"It's a frightening situation but it is not a disease where if you get it, it's certain death. You just have to be lighthearted about the whole situation."

Australian woman Olivia Capodicasa told Sunrise on Thursday it had “been a hell of a 24 hours stuck in here”.

“I think it is really starting to hit me now that this is the reality and I’m not going home anytime soon,” she told the program.

Cairns couple Paul and Jacqui Fidrmuc are on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan. Source: AAP
Cairns couple Paul and Jacqui Fidrmuc are on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan. Source: AAP

Ship owner Pacific Cruises said the 3711 people aboard included 2,666 guests and 1045 crew, 223 of which were Australian.

None of the infected people had severe symptoms, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Passengers on the ship took to social media to detail their predicament, posting photos of officials in masks and gowns conducting health checks, room service meals, empty corridors, and a barren deck.

British passenger David Abel said all passengers were confined to their cabins on Wednesday morning, with staff delivering food room by room.

"The challenging situation for me is that I'm an insulin dependent diabetic," Abel said in a video taken in his cabin and posted to his Facebook page, adding that regular and timed food intake was a key part of managing his condition.

"We don't have a choice in what we can eat, the announcement recently was that they're starting on the bottom deck and working their way up - I'm on the ninth deck."

Japan Self Defense Force officials work as the ship receives food and supplies for passengers and crew members. Source: AAP
Japan Self Defense Force officials work as the ship receives food and supplies for passengers and crew members. Source: AAP

Infection brought in from Hong Kong man

The cruise ship was caught up in the global coronavirus epidemic after an 80-year-old Hong Kong man, who joined for part of the 14-day cruise, tested positive for the virus after disembarking in Hong Kong on January 25.

The man had joined a shore excursion in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan, on January 22, local media reported.

Mr Kato said officials would continue to monitor the remaining passengers and crew for the potential development of symptoms, suggesting more test samples could be taken.

A Chinese worker reportedly died from a cardiac arrest brought on by exhaustion after insisting on working 10 days straight to help fight the coronavirus outbreak.

With Reuters

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