Condition of Indians hit by coronavirus on board Japan cruise improves

The condition of the three Indians infected with the novel coronavirus on board the cruise ship moored off the Japanese coast has improved and no new cases of infection among the Indians on the quarantined vessel have been reported, the Indian Embassy in Japan said on Saturday.

A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew and 6 passengers, were among the 3,711 people on board the quarantined ship that arrived at the Japanese coast earlier this month.

Three Indians were among the 218 people infected with COVID-19 on the ship.

The Indian Embassy said it was making efforts for early de-boarding of all the Indians from the ship after the end of the quarantine period.

'Happy to inform that health conditions of 3 Indians being treated for COVID-19 have improved and no new cases of infection of Indians on the ship,' the embassy tweeted.

The embassy is in discussion with the Japanese government and the ship management company for the disembarkation modalities and welfare of Indians, it said.

"We have continued our efforts with all of them for early disembarkation of our nationals after the end of the quarantine period and subject to favourable results of their tests for COVID - 19," an embassy official told PTI on Saturday.

The ship was quarantined after a passenger who de-boarded last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the COVID-19 on the ship.

The embassy also sent an email to all Indian nationals on board the ship, assuring them of all help and assistance.

They are also requested to follow the Japanese government's health and quarantine protocols, the embassy said on its Facebook page.

The Japanese government on Thursday announced that passengers aged 80 or older will be given the option to disembark the ship if they test negative for COVID-19.

Those who meet the age requirement and have pre-existing conditions or are staying in rooms without balcony will be prioritised for disembarkation.

No Indian national falls under this category, eligible for early disembarkation, the statement said on Friday.

The death toll in China's novel coronavirus epidemic climbed to 1,523 with 143 new fatalities reported mostly from the worst-affected Hubei province, while the confirmed cases jumped to over 66,000, health officials said on Saturday.

More than 580 cases have been confirmed outside mainland China and three deaths, one each in the Philippines, Hong Kong and Japan.

The coronavirus outbreak originated in central China's Hubei province in December last year and has spread to several countries, including India.

Many countries have banned arrivals from China while major airlines have suspended flights to the country.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for the use of digital technology such as big data, artificial intelligence and cloud computing to better support epidemic monitoring and analysis, virus tracing, prevention and treatment, and resource allocation.