Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantine extended after Japan finds 3 more cases of coronavirus on board

Three more passengers stranded aboard a quarantined cruise ship off the coast of Japan have tested positive for coronavirus, the country’s Health Ministry said on Saturday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases on the vessel to 64.

While the quarantine period for the ship was initially set for two weeks, a health official has clarified that it would be extended each time a new case was confirmed on the vessel, currently stuck at the port of Yokohama with around 3,700 people on board.

Some 279 passengers – either showing signs of illness or coming into close contact with those who do – have undergone tests for the virus. To date, each infected passenger has been transferred from the ship to medical facilities around Japan.

With its epicenter in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the fast-moving outbreak has killed over 700 people and infected more than 34,000 since it was first observed in December, the majority of them in China.

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