Third Indian On Board Diamond Princess Cruise Ship Tests Positive

The coronavirus epidemic has spiralled into a global health emergency.

New Delhi:

A third Indian crew member has tested positive for the novel coronavirus aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess and has been hospitalised for treatment, the Indian embassy in Tokyo reported today. 

Embassy officials, who claim to be in touch with all the three, have reported that their condition is “stable and improving”.

The Diamond Princess, a British cruise ship docked at Yokohoma in Japan, is currently under quarantine amid a rampant rise in coronavirus cases onboard. Of the 3,700 passengers and crew members aboard, over 170 had tested positive for the novel virus until reports last came in.

The ship is carrying 138 Indians, two of whom had tested positive on Thursday.

Several Indians aboard the ship have sought the Indian government’s assistance. Binay Kumar Sarkar — a chef from north Bengal — had gone on social media to appeal to the government for help. “Please somehow save us as soon as possible. What’s the point if something happens (to us)…I want to tell the government of India, Modi-ji, please segregate us and bring us back home safely,” he said.

Later, an Indian security officer sent out a similar SOS message through an interview with NDTV. “We are scared that if the infection is spreading, it is spreading so fast that we could also become one of them. We don’t want to. We just want to go back home,” said Sonali Thakkar, who was placed in isolation on Monday.

The 24-year-old officer’s appeal had come even as the Diamond Princess reported nearly 40 new coronavirus cases. The situation on the cruise ship is being compounded by the delay in getting back results on coronavirus tests, she told NDTV.