Japan Quarantines Cruise Ship After Former Passenger Gets Coronavirus

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Update: 10 of the passengers on board this ship tested positive for the Coronavirus so far. They were taken to local hospitals. The remaining passengers will be quarantined for 14 days on the ship. See this update on TPG.

A few days ago, I wrote a post about the precautions cruise lines are taking in the wake of the coronavirus. Today, a cruise ship in Japan at Yokohama Bay is being quarantined due to a former passenger who contracted the coronavirus. All passengers are being tested for the coronavirus as well as other infectious diseases like malaria and Dengue fever.

The 80-year-old passenger disembarked the Diamond Princess cruise ship on January 25 in Hong Kong. During the cruise, he did not visit the ship’s medical center. He had visited mainland China for a few hours as well as Tokyo before he boarded the cruise ship. All family members who traveled with him do not have the virus. The man is currently in a hospital in Hong Kong.

This is actually the second time this cruise ship has been quarantined. The ship previously went through the quarantine process on Saturday in Okinawa.

I fear this will not be the last quarantine situation. Cruisers in that region need to pack lots of patience to get through these quarantine delays.

So far, there have not been widespread infections of coronavirus in Japan or on cruise ships. Only 20 people in Japan have been diagnosed with the disease as of this publication time.

I am not an alarmist. However, if I had an upcoming cruise booked in that region, I would likely not go. I know the risks are low, but if everyone is so fearful, would it even be fun? And, the quarantine process doesn’t sound like fun. Of course, travel insurance doesn’t cover backing out of a trip like this, so it’s a tough decision for many travelers.

You can read more about the situation here.

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