Three Thais on Diamond Princess cruise ship infected with Covid-19
Three Thai people on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship currently in quarantine in Japan were found infected with the new coronavirus or Covid-19, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Cherdkiat Atthakorn said.
“Out of 3,700 passengers on board, 542 tested positive for Covid-19, including thee Thais -- one a passenger and the other two crew,” he said. “They were taken to a hospital in Tokyo for treatment.”
“The ship carries 25 Thais in total, two passengers and 23 crew members,” he added.
Cherdkiat said that the Thai Embassy in Tokyo has provided updates on the three patients regularly and that their condition is now stable. “As for another Thai passenger who tested negative for the virus, they were allowed to disembark the ship and have been brought back to the hotel in an embassy vehicle and will soon return to Thailand. The 21 crew members, however, will need to stay on the ship to complete their jobs.”
The mandatory 14-day quarantine ended on Wednesday (February 19) and passengers who passed the final test were allowed to leave the ship until Friday. “The Japanese government had also sent their immigration staff to process the extension of visa for passengers on the ship, therefore Thais don’t need to worry about overstaying in Japan,” added Cherdkiat.
As of February 18, Japan has confirmed 621 cases of Covid-19 with passengers on the Diamond Princess accounting for 542 people.
