Coronavirus: 14 Americans evacuated from Japanese 'ship of doom' test positive, will remain in isolation
Fourteen Americans who were evacuated by plane from Japan to the US after getting off a cruise ship have tested positive for the coronavirus, said the US State Department on Monday.
"During the evacuation process, after passengers had disembarked the ship and initiated transport to the airport, US officials received notice that 14 passengers, who had been tested 2-3 days earlier, had tested positive for COVID-19," reads the Joint Statement by US Department of State and US Department of Health and Human Services on repatriation of American Passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
"These individuals were moved in the most expeditious and safe manner to a specialized containment area on the evacuation aircraft to isolate them in accordance with standard protocols," the statement added.
The number of people infected with the new coronavirus now stands at 29 in the US. Before this, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had confirmed 15 cases of COVID-19 in the US.
The CDC had earlier warned that there will likely be additional cases in the coming days and weeks, including among other people who recently returned from Wuhan.
American passengers evacuated the cruise ship that had been quarantined for more than a week in the Japanese port city of Yokohama. The measure was taken after hundreds of people on board fell sick.
On February 16, the US State Department facilitated the voluntary repatriation of over 300 US citizens and their immediate family members who had been passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Passengers were evaluated by medical personnel from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and all were "deemed asymptomatic" and fit to fly before being processed for evacuation. However, the 14 passengers were found to be infected before boarding a charter plane to the US.
After consultation with HHS officials, including experts from the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the State Department made the decision to allow the 14 individuals, who were in isolation separated from other passengers and continued to be asymptomatic, to remain on the aircraft to complete the evacuation process.
During the flights, these individuals will continue to be isolated from the other passengers, says the statement.
"These flights departed Japan at approximately 4.30 pm Eastern time on February 16 and will arrive in the US later this morning. All passengers are being closely monitored by medical professionals throughout the flight, and any who become symptomatic will be moved to the specialized containment area, where they will be treated," it says.
In a statement on the Diamond Princess repatriation, the CDC had said on February 15: "There are approximately 400 US citizens on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship."
"Due to the dynamic nature of the outbreak, the US government recommends that US citizens disembark and return to the US. Americans returned by flights chartered by the State Department will be subject to a 14-day, federal quarantine and be housed at two existing federal quarantine sites for repatriated travelers," it added.
The two sites where the passengers will be quarantined in the US are Travis Air Force Base in California and the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas. "Those passengers returning from Japan will be housed separately from individuals already in quarantine from previous Wuhan repatriation flights," said the CDC statement.
The US State Department's latest statement also says that after landing in the US, passengers will remain under quarantine for 14 days.
Passengers that develop symptoms in flight and those with positive test results will remain isolated on the flights and will be transported to an appropriate location for continued isolation and care.