Experts Worry Quarantine Procedures May Actually Increase Infection Risk on Cruise Ship Docked in Japan with COVID-19

As the number of confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus cases continues to increase on a quarantined cruise ship in Japan, public health experts are worried about the more than 3,400 passengers and crew members still on board the ship in what they say is an unprecedented situation. Some experts believe that the current quarantine procedures may be increasing the risk of infection among healthy passengers who have not been infected with the new coronavirus. Some passengers will be allowed to leave the ship but the majority will remain on board. Japanese authorities said that people aged 80 and above or those with pre-existing conditions or passengers who are staying in rooms without windows will be allowed to leave the cruise ship as early as Friday if they test negative for the coronavirus but will still need to be at government-provided accommodation, according to the Japan Times. “We are working with Japan to try and get the most needy passengers off the ship,” said Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies program, at a press conference on Thursday. “We will have to work with Japan in the coming days to see if better and more appropriate arrangements can be made for the life support to the other people on that ship and I’m sure we can come to a proper arrangement in order to take care of the welfare of people on the ship,” Ryan said. The Diamond Princess has been stuck in the Yokohama harbor sinc...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 onetime public health Source Type: news