Coronavirus latest: Four evacuated Diamond Princess cruise ship passengers test positive in UK

Bonnie Christian23 February 2020

Four of the cruise ship passengers evacuated from Japan have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK.

The virus was passed on in the Diamond Princess cruise ship and the affected patients have been transferred from Arrowe Park Hospital to specialist infection centres.

Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Chris Whitty said this brought the total number of virus cases in the UK to 13.

The passengers had been among a group of 30 British nationals and two Irish citizens who arrived at a quarantine block in Merseyside on Saturday.

The Department of Health said a “full infectious disease risk assessment” was done before Saturday’s repatriation flight and that no-one who boarded the flight had displayed any symptoms of the virus.

Any more passengers who test positive will immediately be taken into specialist NHS care, the department said.

It added that “appropriate arrangements” are in place at Arrowe Park, including strict separation of passengers from staff and from each other.

Of the four people who tested positive for coronavirus, two patients are in the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, one is in the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and a fourth was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, NHS England said.

It is understood some British nationals who are part of the Diamond Princess crew opted to remain on the ship.

Coronavirus: Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined

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This is the second batch of evacuees staying in Merseyside following the hosting of 83 British nationals earlier in February and a health official said they now have a “blueprint” for how to handle the new arrivals.

Janelle Holmes, chief executive at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust reassured staff that the hospital was "running as usual".

"When guests arrived yesterday evening, we followed clear guidance in relation to infection prevention control. This was to minimise the chance of any infection spreading."

On Sunday, 118 people who had been evacuated from virus-epicentre Wuhan and were staying at the Kents Hill Park training and conference centre in Milton Keynes were released following a two week quarantine period.

The four new coronavirus cases come as one of the Diamond Princess passengers who was hospitalised after testing positive for coronavirus died in Japan, becoming the third fatality from the stricken cruise ship.

Press Association Images

Japan's health ministry also announced 57 more cases of infections from the ship, including 55 crew members still on board and two passengers who had infected roommates and were in a prolonged quarantine at a government facility.

Together with the new cases, 691 people have been infected on the ship, or nearly one-fifth of the vessel’s original population of 3,711.

British couple David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, who were on the cruise for their 50th wedding anniversary, are still in a Japanese hospital after being diagnosed with coronavirus and pneumonia.

Relatives said the couple are both “having a really tough time” and feel “very much in the dark” in terms of treatment, adding that they are awaiting further tests.

Speaking in a liveblog on Sunday, their daughter-in-law Roberta Abel said: “We want to get them discharged from the hospital and back to the UK as negative.

“They are scared. They said to us today, ‘If we get that virus again, we are not coming home’.”

In a message to Arrowe Park staff, the chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, Janelle Holmes, said: “We always had a plan in place for this eventuality – and this has been carried out successfully. I want to repeat and reassure that we are continuing to work with national experts from Public Health England at all times and they are on site, along with local infection control experts and other healthcare professionals.

“When guests arrived yesterday evening, we followed clear guidance in relation to infection prevention control. This was to minimise the chance of any infection spreading.

“Just to reiterate that our hospital is running as usual including all community-led services. Please continue to help us to ensure that our patients are getting accurate information on this situation and are attending appointments as usual.”

In Europe, a third person who was infected with coronavirus has died in Italy as authorities scramble to contain the biggest outbreak of the virus on the continent.

The number of people infected with the virus in Italy has jumped to more than 130 as a dozen towns were put on lockdown.

On Sunday, Lombardy regional councillor Giulio Gallera told reporters the third fatal case was an elderly woman from the town of Crema, east of Milan, who was also suffering from cancer. Two other elderly patients in northern Italy have died over the past 48 hours.

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