Over 3,500 people quarantined on Diamond Princess cruise

[smmco]

I dont even think most people in the US are afraid of getting it (mainly because it's so mild in healthy adults with access to sufficient medical care). I think most here (and other cruise boards) have expressed that they are afraid of either being denied boarding for having other flu like symptoms or being quarantined. These are certainly both my fears with respect to taking a Med cruise in May. Actually getting Coronavirus is pretty far down on my list of fears of things that could FUBAR my trip.

This is exactly how I feel. I'm cruising in Europe this Summer. I'm not at all scared of the virus, but I am scared of the government response to the virus. It seems very extreme for a virus that causes cold-like symptoms in 80% of those infected. Who knows how many are infected are walking around with no symptoms. I have a lot of theory's on this whole thing, but I'll keep them to myself.

 

[QueenElinor]

Exactly. The Italians for sure. Not the Brits as of last night. Honestly, I can't image that is current information though and I'm having trouble finding the article I read last night, for confirmation. Japan has problems. Those problems are from refusing to ban travel early, so I kind of want to remind everyone that we are doing it differently and spreading the burden of these cases around so that it doesn't overwhelm any one hospital system.

Precisely. And Japan has far more Chinese visitors than we do, concentrated in a tiny country.

The only good thing about Japan being next in line to feel the effects of the virus is that they will really help out a lot with understanding this disease.

 

[Lisa F]

I'm not sure the part I bolded is true. Whole families are being wiped out, including ostensibly healthy & wealthy people. https://variety.com/2020/film/asia/virus-kills-chinese-film-director-family-wuhan-1203505614/

The article doesn't say anything about their health. Maybe they were heavy smokers, we don't know. It does say that they were unable to get medical care, which is the best predictor of a positive outcome. Being well respected in your field does not always translate to wealth especially in a communist totalitarian governmental system.

 

[mab2012]

I think most here (and other cruise boards) have expressed that they are afraid of either being denied boarding for having other flu like symptoms or being quarantined.

I'd like to think that after the failed experiment that was the Diamond Princess, there will be no more quarantining of cruise ships. Hopefully if (when?) it happens again, it will be handled differently. But of course we can't know for sure.

Actually getting Coronavirus is pretty far down on my list of fears of things that could FUBAR my trip.

Likewise.

 

[StarGirl11]

Well he is pleased with his decision at the moment. I'm continuing to follow him through this saga

https://twitter.com/x/status/1229329824616812544

There’s something about the way this is written that really grates on my nerves and I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe it’s the text speak.

I dont even think most people in the US are afraid of getting it (mainly because it's so mild in healthy adults with access to sufficient medical care). I think most here (and other cruise boards) have expressed that they are afraid of either being denied boarding for having other flu like symptoms or being quarantined. These are certainly both my fears with respect to taking a Med cruise in May. Actually getting Coronavirus is pretty far down on my list of fears of things that could FUBAR my trip.

Honestly the Westerdam situation concerned me more as someone who might be cruising in the Bahamas before the confirmed Malaysia case. And the more time has progressed the more I realize, it’s not the virus I fear but the actions taken as a result of the virus.

Case and point: the Tokyo Marathon was just cancelled outside of its elite runner/WC field and that’s probably only going due to the fact that’s the Japanese Olympic Qualifiers. It was done as a form of ConVid mitigation measure. While it’s highly unlikely to affect marathons outside the US. It’s in a lot of runners minds about the precident it sets especially as a member of the marathon majors.

 

[Starwind]

Exactly! Clickbait!

So scientists, in 6 weeks, haven't been able to figure out and tell the public how to kill these germs. Really? Nope, it's just not being reported because it doesn't drive fear up, it drives it down. I guess any publication, group, r person can call itself a "journalist" these days. Trash trash trash.

From the WHO Q&A page:

https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses
How long does the virus survive on surfaces?

It is still not known how long the 2019-nCoV virus survives on surfaces, although preliminary information suggests the virus may survive a few hours or more. Simple disinfectants can kill the virus making it no longer possible to infect people.

 

[Starwind]

Update from Princess Cruises. I think the number of cases they reference includes the 99 previously announced as the Japanese government site does not have an announcement of new numbers beyond that previous group.

https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/diamond-princess-update.html
QUOTE


Updated February 18, 2020 GMT+9
Additional Cases Confirmed by Ministry of Health & World Central Kitchen
Princess Cruises confirms announcements, made by the Japanese Ministry of Health, over the past 48 hours, that include a total of 169 new positive cases of COVID-19 onboard Diamond Princess. Nationality information for these new cases is still being verified.

We continue to follow guidance from the Japanese Ministry of Health on plans for disembarkation protocols to provide medical care for these new cases.

Princess Cruises can also confirm the Government of Canada and the Government of Australia are also planning to repatriate its citizens and permanent residents via chartered aircraft. For more information about these transportation plans, please contact each individual government.

For our guests and crew onboard, Princess Cruises has engaged and partnered with World Central Kitchen (WCK), a non-profit organization founded by chef José Andrés, which uses the power of food to heal and strengthen communities in times of crisis and beyond. Starting with lunch today, we will be integrating WCK meals into our food service options. Meals will continue to include breakfast, lunch and dinner, which will be delivered to staterooms accommodating all dietary requirements.

February 17, 2020 GMT+9
Update from the Government of Canada Regarding Repatriation
Princess Cruises was notified by the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo that the Government of Canada will provide chartered aircraft to bring all Canadian persons, currently quarantined on Diamond Princess, back to Canada.

Princess Cruises will continue to follow the direction of the Japanese Ministry of Health and as directed we will coordinate with the Canadian Government and the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo.



END QUOTE

 

[Adventurelawyer]

From the WHO Q&A page:

https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses
How long does the virus survive on surfaces?

It is still not known how long the 2019-nCoV virus survives on surfaces, although preliminary information suggests the virus may survive a few hours or more. Simple disinfectants can kill the virus making it no longer possible to infect people.

That’s awesome. I’m glad you found that information in a non sky is falling no one knows anything article because its very helpful. But my point was mire ore less that a lot of garbage is floating around disguised as news and is intended to cash in on fear.

 

[QueenElinor]

The article doesn't say anything about their health. Maybe they were heavy smokers, we don't know. It does say that they were unable to get medical care, which is the best predictor of a positive outcome. Being well respected in your field does not always translate to wealth especially in a communist totalitarian governmental system.

That would be why I used the word "ostensibly"

My point really is, though, that the Chinese health system in the cities is quite good. And many of their citizens are middle class or upper middle class. It's not the same China it was twenty or even ten years ago. Most of the doctors are well-trained, many trained in the West. They're publishing quite a few papers about it now, and their analysis is not deficient. They read like any study published by any academic medical center in the west.

In other words, I think we aren't able to just say that the outcomes are poor because the medical care is, or the people are unhealthy.

Of course, China's new-found affluence is also why the rest of the world is at risk. They travel all over the world, for business and leisure.

 

[QueenElinor]

A really interesting & reassuring (to me) article on life inside a quarantine at Travis AFB : https://www.npr.org/sections/health...tines-two-women-describe-surreal-lonely-waits

 

[GlamMistress]

Another 88 tested positive on the ship.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1229716340300296193

 

[Karin1984]

A really interesting & reassuring (to me) article on life inside a quarantine at Travis AFB : https://www.npr.org/sections/health...tines-two-women-describe-surreal-lonely-waits

My manager was back to work yesterday and he told us how happy he was that NL has at home quarantine after being evacuated. He had all his own things, was able to work (which made the time go faster), only the weekends were hard and that he wasn't able to get a proper workout.

 

[Starwind]

Many of you have been following David Abel and his wife through his FB/Youtube page and videos. On his FB page he has reported that they have both tested POSITIVE and are being removed from the ship. They had been tested when officials tested everyone "over 70".

Also, a bunch of more cases found. Per Japanese government:

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_09606.html
per Google's translation:

QUOTE


About new coronavirus infectious disease confirmed in cruise ship during quarantine in Yokohama Port (the twelfth report)
The cruise ship Diamond Princess, which arrived at Yokohama Port on February 3, is undergoing quarantine at sea. A new coronavirus test was conducted, including those who are considered to be at high risk from the viewpoint of ensuring health due to long-term stay on board, including those with symptoms such as fever, and the results were found. Of the 681 individuals, 88 (including 65 asymptomatic pathogen carriers) were confirmed to be positive for the new coronavirus. In the future, it will be transported to medical institutions with infectious disease wards. Positive cases were confirmed in 542 of the 2,404 patients tested (including 254 asymptomatic pathogen carriers).

Those who are transported include elderly people and foreign nationals, and it is necessary to take measures that take into account physical conditions. The press is requested to give special consideration to coverage of this matter.

Quarantine of the cruise ship continues to be implemented. A new coronavirus test is conducted for those who need it, and the results will be announced later.

END QUOTE

 

[Starwind]

A video from World Central Kitchen showing them building a temporary kitchen at the Diamond Princess site. According to WCKitchen twitter feed, they have already been providing assistance for about 5 days preparing meals offsite and delivering them to the ship so that the crew on board only had to deliver them, not make them.

(FYI, if you haven't heard of them World Central Kitchen is a pretty fascinating organization involved in disaster relief worldwide; I first learned about this earlier this year because they were responding to the Bahamas after the hurricane; may be worthwhile to take a read at their website: https://wck.org/ )

https://twitter.com/x/status/1229617479909019648

 

[Kennywood]

So this kind of reporting makes my head want to explode. An article titled "Here's how long coronaviruses may linger on contaminated surfaces, according to science": https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/17/health/novel-coronavirus-surfaces-study/index.html

The article essentially says nothing.

Well, consider the source....

 

[Gentry2004]

Absolutely love Jose Andres and World Central Kitchen. They do amazing humanitarian work. Was happy to see them involved.

 

[QueenElinor]

My manager was back to work yesterday and he told us how happy he was that NL has at home quarantine after being evacuated. He had all his own things, was able to work (which made the time go faster), only the weekends were hard and that he wasn't able to get a proper workout.

I think the difference is just the sheer volume of people the US repatriated, and perhaps availability of facilities in NL. It's hard to keep track of hundreds scattered across the US. I see where the government of UK commandeered a Holiday Inn by Heathrow. Different measures will be taken in different countries, and that's entirely appropriate.

 

[QueenElinor]

Ok, this is a must-watch. Infectious Disease doctor boarded the Diamond Princess. "I've never been so scared in my life."

 

[MarkLT1]

Well, consider the source....

It is not just one source. I've seen this kind of clickbait from just about every major news source in the US (and many outside). I've seen clickbait headlines re this pandemic on Fox News, One of our local more conservative TV stations, MSNBC, CNN, NPR, WaPo, and NYT just to name a few. It is across the board. About the only place I am not seeing sensationalized headlines are the direct sources- the CDC and the WHO.

 

[Gentry2004]

Wow that video is crazy. So basically the ship has never been quarantined at all, not in any true sense. I wonder when the US realized this? When they announced the evac?