Third Indian crew of Diamond Princess, cruise ship quarantined off Japanese coast, tests positive for coronavirus; at least 218 infected so far

-

Tokyo: A third Indian crew onboard a cruise ship off the Japanese coast has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Indian Embassy in Japan said on Friday as authorities confirmed that 218 people have been infected with the deadly virus on the quarantined ship.

The cruise ship Diamond Princess with 3,711 people on board arrived at the Japanese coast early last week and was quarantined after a passenger who de-boarded last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the COVID-19 on the ship.

A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew and 6 passengers, were on board the ship.

The Indian Embassy in Tokyo in a statement said three Indian crew members are among 218 people tested positive for the virus.

A reporter walks near the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama. AP

A reporter walks near the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama. AP

"All 218 people, including Indian nationals have been taken to hospitals for further treatment and quarantine. As per information available with the Embassy, no other Indian national onboard Diamond Princess Cruise ship has developed any symptoms of infection," the statement said.

The embassy has contacted all three Indian nationals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are currently receiving treatment at medical facilities.

"Their health conditions have been confirmed to be stable and improving. The embassy is also in constant contact with the relevant Japanese authorities to ensure the well-being of all Indian nationals on-board the ship," it said.

The Japanese government on Thursday announced that passengers aged 80 or older will be given the option to disembark the ship if they test negative for COVID-19. Those who meet the age requirement and have pre-existing conditions or are staying in rooms without a balcony will be prioritised for disembarkation.

No Indian national falls under this category, eligible for early disembarkation, the statement said.

The Indian Embassy has reached out to the Indian nationals (crew members and passengers) through e-mails and telephone calls and has explained to them about the quarantine regulations of Japanese authorities.

"Many of them have responded and expressed their understanding. The embassy has been in constant touch with the ship management company and the employer of the six passengers for appropriate facilitation," it said.

The death toll in China's novel coronavirus outbreak has spiked to nearly 1,500 with 121 new fatalities reported mostly from the worst-affected Hubei province while the confirmed cases of infection jumped to nearly 65,000, health officials said on Friday.

The coronavirus outbreak originated in central China's Hubei province in December last year and has spread to 26 countries, including India.

Several countries have banned arrivals from China while major airlines have suspended flights to the country.



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/38pblSh
Press Trust of India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Both COVID-19 vaccine doses needed for good protection against B16172 variant

-
It’s been a concerning few weeks in the UK, with the B16172 variant first taking hold and then spreading to become dominant. This more infectious form of the virus, initially identified in India, is what we’re now going to have to live with – unless it is out-competed by another variant in the future. Worryingly, experts had predicted that B16172 might be able to escape some of the effects of vaccines, which if true would threaten to derail the UK’s plans to finish lifting restrictions from the end of June. However, Public Health England (PHE) has looked at the ability of various variants to evade immunity and says that the UK’s vaccines remain effective against the variants circulating, including B16172. On the surface, this looks like good news. But delve a bit deeper, and things get more complicated, says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. PHE’s research found a little drop-off in protection against B16172 among people who were fully vaccinated.
Read more

New coronavirus variant emerge in India: How should our COVID response change?

-
Image
After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. In 15-20 percent of samples from the Indian state of Maharashtra (the state accounting for 62 percent of cases in the country) a new, double mutation in key areas of the virus has been detected. These are now known as the E484Q and L452R mutations. What makes the variant different? Both these mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus – the spike protein – that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a “receptor binding domain”, meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells. These new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster. Given what we have seen with other similar mutations , it might also make it harder for our immu
Read more

Aditya L1 Mission: Spacecraft is nearing its final phase, says ISRO chief

-
Aditya L1 spacecraft is nearing its final phase, and manoeuvres to enter the L1 point are expected to be completed by January 7, 2024, according to ISRO Chairman S Somanath. “Aditya is on the way. I think it has reached almost its final phase,” the ISRO chief told PTI on the sidelines of an event organised at VSSC to commemorate the 60th year of the First Sounding Rocket Launch. Aditya L1, India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun, was successfully launched on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The spacecraft, after travelling about 1.5 million km from Earth over 125 days, is expected to be placed in a Halo orbit around the Lagrangian point L1, considered closest to the Sun. He said that the last preparations for the spacecraft’s entry into the L1 point are currently underway incrementally.”Possibly by January 7th, the final manoeuvres will be done for entering into the L1 point,” Somanath added. Among other tasks, it will capture and tr
Read more