Japan cruise ship: 14 more crew test positive for Covid-19

The Costa Atlantica, the cruise ship docked in Nagasaki, Japan, has had 14 more crew members test positive for the Covid-19 virus. The additional cases come on top of 34 confirmed cases earlier this week.

Thai PBS World reports that the ship has been in Nagasaki since January, when it docked to have maintenance work carried out. It’s believed to have around 600 crew on board, with Japanese officials hoping to complete testing of all crew by the end of the week. The newly diagnosed 14 are reported to be self-isolating in their cabins.

The Covid-19 crisis has been a disaster for the cruise ship industry with high-profile infection clusters fuelling the opinion of the liners as ‘petri dishes’ for viral infections.

The latest Costa Atlantica outbreak comes after another cruise ship in Japan ended up with 700 cases of the Covid-19 virus. The Diamond Princess docked in the Japanese city of Yokohama after a former passenger tested positive. The ship was placed under quarantine by officials, with nobody allowed to disembark. 13 of its passengers ultimately died.

Japan has recently experienced a spike in Covid-19 cases, after a comparatively small number to begin with. The country has had nearly 12,000 cases, with around 290 patients dying. The recent jump in new cases has led the government to declare a state of emergency until at least May 6.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World