Last night, the western press exposed the Americans for breaking Japan's quarantine on the 'Diamond Princess' by ferrying some 14 infected individuals to the US. But with one day left to go before the Japanese government ends its quarantine and releases thousands of terrified and paranoid passengers into the streets of Tokyo.
On Tuesday, another 88 passengers from the Diamond Princess were diagnosed with the virus, bringing the total to 542.
#BREAKING: Another 88 confirmed new #coronavirus cases from on board the Diamond Princess @abcnewspic.twitter.com/Ixp1XdpY0x— Jake Sturmer (@JakeSturmer) February 18, 2020
Japan has completed tests for all passengers and crew aboard the ship as of Monday, but the results for the last batch of tests aren't expected until Wednesday, the day that the quarantine is slated to end. So far, results are back for 2,404 passengers and crew, out of the 3,711 who were on board the ship when the quarantine began on Feb. 5.
Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said Tuesday that people who have tested negative for the virus would start leaving on Wednesday, but that the process of releasing passengers and crew won't be finished until Friday, according to the Washington Post.
The remaining 61 American passengers on the DP who opted not to join the evacuation will not be allowed to return to the US until March 4, according to the American embassy in Tokyo. The governments of Australia, Hong Kong and Canada have also said they would evacuate passengers.
Elsewhere, Japan confirmed three more cases of the virus. This time, they were confirmed in Wakayama, a prefecture in eastern Japan.
In the latest indication that the 14-day quarantine simply wasn't enough to kill the virus, a British couple has tested positive for the virus just one day before Japanese authorities are set to release everybody from quarantine, according to the Guardian.
"David and Sally Abel, a British couple onboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner in Japan, have tested positive for coronavirus, a day before passengers who tested negative were due to start leaving the ship after spending two weeks in quarantine."
Including all of the cases announced overnight, there are now 73,336 confirmed cases of the virus worldwide, compared with 1,874 deaths.
As the battle against the virus rages in Wuhan, Liu Zhiming, 51, a neurosurgeon and the director of the Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, became the latest high-profile medical worker to succumb to the virus, as we noted last night. Late last week, China confirmed that nearly 2,000 medical workers had been infected.
The Commission overseeing China's virus response has released a statement commemorating Liu's life and honoring his death.
"From the start of the outbreak, Comrade Liu Zhiming, without regard to his personal safety, led the medical staff of Wuchang Hospital at the front lines of the fight against the epidemic," the commission said. Dr. Liu "made significant contributions to our city’s fight to prevent and control the novel coronavirus," it added.
In Beijing, senior officials including President Xi continued to play down the economic blowback from the virus. During remarks on Tuesday, Xi insisted that China could still meet its 2020 economic targets - which called for a doubling of the size of the Chinese economy in 10 years - despite the outbreak.
712 People in Washington State Being Monitored for Coronavirus Symptoms
Only one person has tested positive for the new coronavirus in Washington state but 712 people are under public health supervision, state officials said on Monday.
The first confirmed case of the COVID-19 virus was in Washington; the patient in Snohomish County was later released from the hospital. Twenty-four others have tested negative for the virus.
But 712 others are under supervision for the illness, the Washington State Department of Health said.
“The number of people under public health supervision includes those at risk of having been exposed to Novel Coronavirus who are monitoring their health under the supervision of public health officials. This number includes close contacts of laboratory confirmed cases, as well as people who have returned from China in the past 14 days and are included in federal quarantine guidance,” the department said in an update on its website.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, close contact means being within about 6 feet of a person who has the new virus for a prolonged period of time. Close contact can also mean direct contact with secretions from a person with a confirmed case.
While hundreds are being monitored in the state, there are no persons under investigation (PUIs), the department said. A person under investigation is an ill patient who might have the new coronavirus. Because there are no PUIs, there are no pending test results.
Still, testing for the virus is occurring in Seattle, one of five major cities where people who show flu-like symptoms will be tested for the new virus if they test negative for the flu.
“This is an extra layer of our response that will help us detect if and when this virus is spreading in the community,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Director of the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said last week. “All of our efforts now are to prevent the sustained spread of the virus in our community, but we need to be prepared for the possibility that it will spread.”
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