Diamond Princess passenger "tested positive for Wuhan coronavirus"

[bluesea321]

1 minute ago, kent9xxx1 said:

Who is in charge of disembarkation?  Princess or Japan?  

 

A little of both?  Japan controls who can get off the ship and Princess handles the logistics.

[fragilek]

4 minutes ago, kent9xxx1 said:

 

Who is in charge of disembarkation?  Princess or Japan?  

Who gets allowed  off -Japan

How they get off - Princess

[JennAngel9]

24 minutes ago, bluesea321 said:

"A mother of a customer service agent on the Diamond Princess has been exchanging text messages with her daughter, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing her job. In the texts, the crew member, who had watched Dr. Iwata on YouTube, said he had accurately captured the conditions on board."

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/19/world/asia/japan-cruise-ship-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Still reading the article but "Drivers of the buses that ferried the passengers to airports and train stations were blocked off by plastic sheeting and tape. Workers walked around the terminal in hazmat suits."  ***** Japan?! Let's just drop them all off at international airports and train stations... what could go wrong?

[NorthwestCruiser]

It isn't impossible for air vents to be part of the problem but nothing I have seen so far (which is just papers and blogs by virologists) has shown that they are.   Close proximity and/or sharing food seem to be enough.   I would think that Princess would have some sort of sterilization/filter capability.   If it is the air vents then every single airline passenger will be exposed by about... yesterday.

 

If I were to worry about a mechanical system as a vector it would be the plumbing.   Anybody who has cruised a lot or messed around with boats has some stories that don't need to be repeated here.   However, uncovered coughs, possible food contamination, and possible surface contamination would probably explain the outbreak.   Early days, I'm sure people will be inspecting the ship carefully before it becomes our newest artificial reef.

[kendon]

7 minutes ago, kent9xxx1 said:

 

Who is in charge of disembarkation?  Princess or Japan?  

Good question.

[Two4Sea]

37 minutes ago, bluesea321 said:

 

Yeap, I don't understand it either.

 

The passengers in each cabin are not just in quarantine from Japan, they are in quarantine from all the other cabins. Like a hospital, we are looking at 1400 isolation rooms not one isolation ship. The circulation that has occurred has been very restricted, either spaced apart or already cleared.

 

So every couple has been largely separated from the others for 2 weeks. Those being released have tested negative and have been in their cabin, not exposed to the positive people off in their cabins. Because of the isolation the new positives are not new outbreaks, they are people who have been isolated for 2 weeks but because of testing capacity are only getting tested now to see if they caught something 2 weeks ago.

 

It's just like progressively releasing people from an isolation hospital as they are cleared.

 

Bill

[voljeep]

22 minutes ago, fragilek said:

Who gets allowed  off -Japan

How they get off - Princess

what about the passengers that have to remain onboard ? - or is everyone allowed to leave, even if some have to go straight to another 14 days or so of quarantine ?

[Two4Sea]

34 minutes ago, Two4Sea said:

 

Yes, pretty obvious that as the cabins don't exhaust to the hall, the original report of taping likely refers to some other type of vent ...perhaps the hall ventilation being stopped?

 

We've only been handed the original person's interpretation of what they saw. What we make of their words unfortunately can't be any sounder than their amateur impression, only info from more knowledgeable sources can improve the conclusions.

 

Bill

Now we have more knowledgeable info at post 2497. This is different than previously reported as being typical of cruise lines.

 

Bill

[Two4Sea]

1 hour ago, Pushka said:

They aren’t allowed back into Australia nor the USA until 14 days after departing the ship. I am blown away that others were simply allowed to exit yesterday.
 

Their basic assumption was all those now positive were only infected on Day 0 and not afterwards. That might have worked. But given they duct tape vents outside the cabin once someone tests positive inside blows that theory away. The rate of new positive tests should have been decreasing to zero by now. The genie is out of the bottle. 

 

But the rate of new positives is growing slower than the rate of total passengers finally getting their first test.

 

Bill

[fragilek]

1 minute ago, Two4Sea said:

 

But the rate of new positives is growing slower than the rate of total passengers finally getting their first test.

 

Bill

 So far those in the know ,including one of  Japans leading virologist, CDC, UK, HK, and Aus  have requested an additional 14 days quarantine, and now even Japans own Health Minister is asking the leaving passengers to try and stay home 

https://t.co/J6tK7XYWr1?amp=1

Health Minister Katsunobu Kato after meeting with experts later in the day, he urged the former passengers to refrain from non-essential outings and try to stay home for about two weeks.

So I will bow down to their knowledge of the situation and would think that they are not convinced that isolation on the ship worked. 

 

[JennAngel9]

6 minutes ago, Two4Sea said:

 

But the rate of new positives is growing slower than the rate of total passengers finally getting their first test.

 

Bill

Bill, as you have acknowledged, there is air recirculating through the ship, so we cannot call these individual quarantines.

Additionally, I believe now 3 medical staff from Japan have come down with the virus (that we know of all ready, keep in mind the incubation period, there will likely be more).  The only infectious disease doctor to be on the ship gave a report that now every other infectious disease specialist agrees is both horrifying and almost certain to be spreading the disease on the ship.

It makes sense that new positives would be a slower % b/c it appears they were previously testing only people with symptoms and known close contacts.  Even though that first batch of people were removed, plenty of crew who worked and lived closely with other infected crew remain on the with responsibilities that involve interacting with other crew and passengers.  For most of the "quarantine" (perhaps we should start calling it incubation?) period, there were several conditions (especially food preparation) making it likely the virus would spread.  

We have seen evidence that it can live for days on surfaces and less evidence that it may be transmitted through aerosol methods (which I don't fully understand, but has led to entire apartment complexes being evacuated in Hong Kong).

Even if only 10% of the 2000 thousand people getting off over the next 2 days are carriers, the infected levels in Japan will explode.

[fragilek]

https://us.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-02-19-20-intl-hnk/index.html

 

People with the novel coronavirus may have the same viral load — or amount of virus in the body — whether or not they are showing symptoms of illness, according to researchers in China.

 

Another worrying aspect of this virus and the control required

[fragilek]

https://twitter.com/mjswhitebread

 

For anyone who has been following his journey -Matthew Smith  has been declared virus free and will leave the ship at lunchtime 20th feb.  

[kibutzer]

58 minutes ago, Two4Sea said:

 

The passengers in each cabin are not just in quarantine from Japan, they are in quarantine from all the other cabins. Like a hospital, we are looking at 1400 isolation rooms not one isolation ship. The circulation that has occurred has been very restricted, either spaced apart or already cleared.

 

So every couple has been largely separated from the others for 2 weeks. Those being released have tested negative and have been in their cabin, not exposed to the positive people off in their cabins. Because of the isolation the new positives are not new outbreaks, they are people who have been isolated for 2 weeks but because of testing capacity are only getting tested now to see if they caught something 2 weeks ago.

 

It's just like progressively releasing people from an isolation hospital as they are cleared.

 

Bill

Unfortunately  since the passengers were not isolated, it is not correct that they do not interact with other cabins. Some choose to continue to connect with nearby cabin mates, thinking I feel fine so no harm. 

 

[Aus Traveller]

The Australians evacuated from the Diamond Princess have arrived in Darwin to begin their 14-day quarantine. Some passengers who had planned to go, were told at the last minute that they had a positive test for coronavirus. They were taken to hospital, rather than being allowed to board the plane.

 

The article below described other measures Australia is taking to isolate the virus that included crew on the plane not having any contact with the passengers - food was left on each seat for them. Even so, the crew who were all volunteers, will now go into home quarantine themselves. There will be further testing of all the evacuees as they head for their 14-day quarantine in a former mining camp.

 

 

Coronavirus: Qantas flight carrying Diamond Princess ...

www.news.com.au › travel › travel-updates › health-safety › news-story

[cruiserchuck]

58 minutes ago, fragilek said:

https://twitter.com/mjswhitebread

 

For anyone who has been following his journey -Matthew Smith  has been declared virus free and will leave the ship at lunchtime 20th feb.  

 

And if all goes well, he should be back in the US in about 3 weeks.  The letter said passengers who did not take the evacuation flights could not return to the US for at least 2 weeks, and only after testing negative.  I assume the authorities will want a new test after 14 days, which could take a day or two for results.  He will then need to make flight arrangements, and fly home.

 

If things do not go well in Japan with respect to the virus, he could possibly be delayed.  The bright side would be he might still be in Japan to see the cherry blossoms bloom.

[dog]

Update: David & Sally Abel leave ship Thursday morning for a 6 hour drive to a Specialist facility.

 https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2020-02-19/northampton-couple-to-leave-coronavirus-ship-on-thursday/

 

 

[bluesea321]

1 hour ago, fragilek said:

So far those in the know, including one of Japan's leading virologist, CDC, UK, HK, and Aus have requested an additional 14 days quarantine, and now even Japan's own Health Minister is asking the leaving passengers to try and stay home 

 

Think about what has happened for a second. This tragedy started because ONE passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong passed the virus to others and the result after 2 weeks of "quarantine" is that 1 in 5 passengers became infected, 1 in 5 or 20% and likely more by tomorrow.  And now we are supposed to take it for granted that none of those leaving the ship will contaminate others.... 

Seems like a long stretch to me.

Edited February 20, 2020 by bluesea321

[JennAngel9]

17 minutes ago, dog said:

Update: David & Sally Abel leave ship Thursday morning for a 6 hour drive to a Specialist facility.

 https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2020-02-19/northampton-couple-to-leave-coronavirus-ship-on-thursday/

 

 

6 hour drive? Japan is not even that big of a country.  I wonder if they have to go all the way to Kyoto or Osaka?  Makes me think Japan is not prepared for even a slight increase in cases in Yokohama or Tokyo as people start to get off the ship. 

[AlyssaJames]

Just now, JennAngel9 said:

6 hour drive? Japan is not even that big of a country.  I wonder if they have to go all the way to Kyoto or Osaka?  Makes me think Japan is not prepared for even a slight increase in cases in Yokohama or Tokyo as people start to get off the ship. 

My first thought is they’re taking extra care with the now internet-famous patients.

[EDVM96]

7 minutes ago, JennAngel9 said:

6 hour drive? 

It's Fukushima.

[sppunk]

An update from our friends: both tested and came back negative. Hoping on a plane and will back in Trenton, Ontario, around 1:30 a.m. Friday.

[Aus Traveller]

9 minutes ago, sppunk said:

An update from our friends: both tested and came back negative. Hoping on a plane and will back in Trenton, Ontario, around 1:30 a.m. Friday.

Do they have to go into quarantine, or are they cleared because they tested negative?

[ceilidh1]

13 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Do they have to go into quarantine, or are they cleared because they tested negative?

The Canadians I know on board have another 14 days quarantine once back in Canada. They also tested negative.

[gnr25]

Their quarantine in Canada will be for a maximum of 14 days. It may be shorter though. They will probably test them when they arrive at the air base in Trenton and then test them again every few days.

Still not sure on exact departure day for the evac flight. It would make sense to wait until all Canadians requesting evac have been cleared by Japan to disembark from the ship. So it may only leave Japan on Friday evening.

 

None of the Wuhan evacuees have tested positive for the virus.

They will be released on February 21st and 25th.

Edited February 20, 2020 by gnr25