Coronavirus death toll hits 2,000 as passengers leave Diamond Princess cruise ship
Hundreds of passengers started to disembark the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship today as the coronavirus death toll moved past 2,000 in mainland China.
While the death toll hit 2,004, China reported only 1,749 new cases of Covid-19 to bring the total to 74,000.
The novel strain of coronavirus is believed to have emerged from a seafood market in Wuhan.
More than 500 passengers were preparing to depart the Diamond Princess today, docked at Yokohama, Japan. The ship entered quarantine on 3 February after a former passenger was diagnosed with the virus in Hong Kong.
However, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said individuals on board the ship may have spread the virus between them.
“The CDC believes the rate of new infections on board, especially among those without symptoms, represents an ongoing risk,” it said in a statement yesterday.
A total of 545 cases of coronavirus are linked to the cruise ship, out of a total of 3,700 passengers.
The US has flown home more than 300 Americans who had been on board the ship, some of whom were diagnosed with coronavirus on their way to the airport.
And other countries including Australia were preparing to evacuate their own citizens from the cruise liner.
Only passengers who had tested negative for the coronavirus with no symptoms were allowed to leave the ship, according to Japanese officials.
“Unfortunately, cases of infection have emerged, but we have to the extent possible taken appropriate steps to prevent serious cases, including sending infected people to hospital,” Japan’s health minister, Katsunobu Kato, told local media NHK.
Japan’s Nikkei stock market surged 0.9 per cent on the drop in new confirmed cases of coronavirus. And Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose almost 0.5 per cent.
Meanwhile the chief of a major Wuhan hospital died of Covid-19 yesterday to become the seventh health worker to succumb to the illness.
While Chinese officials have said the economic impact is set to be short-term, Covid-19 has had a major impact on global supply chains.
Japan and Singapore’s economies are teetering on the brink of recession and South Korea has warned its own economy is in a state of emergency.