Indian nationals still on cruise ship to be tested for coronavirus: Embassy

Tokyo, February 22

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Indians, who are still on board a cruise ship moored off the Japanese coast, will be tested for the novel coronavirus infection along with others on the vessel by the Japanese authorities, the Indian embassy said on Saturday as all the healthy passengers de-boarded after the quarantine period ended.

The last batch of passengers showing no signs of the deadly disease de-boarded the ship, Diamond Princess, on Friday after the end of the quarantine period.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said over 1,000 passengers and crew would remain on board the ship after Friday’s disembarkations.

A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew and six passengers, were among the 3,711 people, on board the ship when it docked.

“All Indian nationals, amongst others, on board Diamond Princess will be tested for COVID-19 by Japanese authorities, after all passengers disembarked yesterday (Friday),” the embassy tweeted.

“@IndianEmbTokyo sincerely hopes that none will show any sign of #COVID19, enabling further facilitation,” it said.

Till now, eight Indians have tested positive for the COVID-19 and are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Japan.

The condition of the infected Indians is improving, the embassy said.

“No additional new cases in respect of Indian nationals testing positive for COVID-19 since yesterday (Friday) on board Diamond Princess,” it tweeted.

The ship docked at the Yokohama port, near Tokyo, on February 3 with 3,711 passengers and crew on board. It was quarantined after a passenger who disembarked last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the disease.

Some of the passengers with no infection began leaving the ship on Wednesday after the end of a two-week quarantine period that failed to stop the spread of the virus among passengers and crew.

The ship has the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases outside China. A total of 634 people tested positive for the disease. Two former passengers of the ship have also died.

A team of WHO experts, which is currently in the country to investigate the COVID-19 outbreak, is expected to visit the worst-affected Wuhan city on Saturday.

‘No clearance from Chinese government’

As over 100 Indians stuck in China’s coronavirus-hit Hubei province anxiously await their evacuation, the Indian embassy here has informed the stranded nationals that the delay for a special flight from India to bring them home was due to lack of clearance from the Chinese government.

India operated two Air India special flights to Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei and the epicentre of the COVID-19, early this month and evacuated 647 Indians and seven Maldivians.

India has announced its plan to send Indian Air Force’s biggest plane C-17 Globemaster with medical supplies to China as well as to evacuate remaining Indians numbering over 100. It has also offered to evacuate nationals from the neighbouring countries, depending on the space availability.

In a note to over 100 Indians who opted to be evacuated, the embassy while explaining the reasons for the delay urged them to stay calm and take good care of themselves and wait for evacuation instructions.

India says the third flight, also carrying relief medical supplies for China is delayed, as it has not received permissions from the Chinese government yet.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang in his online media briefing on Friday denied any delay, but did not provide any reason for China not granting the required permission for the flight to go to Wuhan.

Indian officials say China has not assigned any reasons for the delay.

 “We are continuously pursuing with the Chinese authorities necessary clearance for the relief flight at the earliest. The Chinese side has not yet given these clearances despite being requested to do so,” the embassy note said.

“We will intimate you all as soon as we get the same from the Chinese side,” it said.

“In the meantime, we would advise you all to take adequate rest and good care of your health. As mentioned earlier, if you are facing any problems related to the availability of food or water or any other issue at your place of residence, do let us know by messaging Embassy officials directly and we will pursue it with the relevant Chinese authorities,” it said.

Meanwhile, over 100 Indians who are in touch with the Indian embassy to board the flight are increasingly getting restive in view of the prevailing situation.

The embassy in a note sent through group chat informed them that the flight was ready but it had not received the permission so far.

“We do realise that some of you are getting apprehensive due to the delays and some others are posting speculative information. We would urge you all to remain calm and wait for further updates from the Embassy,” it said.

“Please note that we will give you all at least four hours notice to get ready before the arrival of vehicles for pickup,” it said.

The death toll in China’s novel coronavirus has gone up to 2,345 with 109 more deaths reported, while the confirmed cases have risen to 76,288, Chinese health officials said on Saturday.

Among the new deaths, 106 were from the Hubei Province, the epicentre of the virus, and one each from Hebei province, Shanghai and Xinjiang. — PTI