Ten more people diagnosed with coronavirus on locked down cruise ship

Ten more people on a cruise ship off Japan have tested positive for the coronavirus, local media reported on Thursday.

It takes the number of infections detected on the boat to 20. More than 200 Australians are reportedly stuck on board the ship. Two Australians were among the first 10 that tested positive to the virus.

Japanese authorities have tested 273 people among the approximately 3,700 passengers and crew on the ship after a man who got off the boat last month in Hong Kong tested positive for the new strain.

The new cases were reported as the Diamond Princess, which was placed in quarantine off the Japanese port city of Yokohama on Monday night, docked to allow resupply and the removal of sick passengers.

At the port, officials could be seen dressed in white full-body protective suits, complete with face masks and helmets.

As the massive cruise ship docked, passengers who have been told they may have to stay aboard for 14 days even if they test negative for the virus, came out onto balconies, some waving to assembled media or taking pictures.

People on board have described confusion and boredom after being confined to cabins following the decision by Japanese authorities to quarantine the vessel.

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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.

Paul and Jacqui Fidrmuc, a couple from Cairns, told Today they were anxious more people could be infected on board the cruise.

“That’s the biggest worry, that there may be other people who have the virus but it hasn’t yet come out,” Ms Fidrmuc said.

Another Queensland couple Karen and John Welch said there had been limited communication from cruise staff and they were eager to get off the ship.

“I wish they would get on to the job. They need to get us off this ship. I have spoken to quite a few Australians on the phone here. We keep in contact. No-one’s heard anything,” Mr Welch told Today.

Meanwhile, passengers have shared photos to Twitter from inside their cabins, some showcasing the rationed food they received and others documenting notes they left on their doors for staff.

More than 20 countries have confirmed cases of the virus, which has infected more than 28,000 in mainland China and killed more than 560 people.

The outbreak has prompted the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency, several governments to impose travel restrictions, and airlines to suspend flights to and from China.

Japan has now confirmed 25 cases of the new coronavirus – excluding the cruise ship infections – among them citizens returning from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak.

Tokyo has evacuated more than 500 Japanese citizens from Wuhan, and attracted some criticism for its relatively loose quarantine approach.

There have been several incidences of apparent person-to-person transmission in Japan, including a tour guide and bus driver who contracted the virus after coming into contact with visitors from Wuhan.

Neither had visited China in recent months.

People on board have described confusion and boredom after being confined to cabins following the decision by Japanese authorities to quarantine the vessel.

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