6 infected Indians on board quarantined ship off Japan coast responding well to treatment: Embassy

TOKYO: The six Indians infected with the novel coronavirus on board the quarantined cruise ship off the Japanese coast were responding well to the treatment, the Indian embassy here said on Tuesday even as 88 new cases of the deadly disease were reported on the vessel, taking the total number of confirmed infections to 542.

A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew and 6 passengers, were among the 3,711 people on board the ship that arrived at the Japanese coast earlier this month.

The Japanese government on Tuesday said that final testing to detect positive cases of the COVID-19 have completed.

88 more people tested positive for the disease, taking the number of those infected on the ship to 542.

The ship 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.

"Till 1800 (Japan Standard Time) today, no new #COVID-19 positive cases confirmed on #DiamondPrincess since yesterday," the Indian embassy tweeted.

"All six Indian crew members already receiving treatment for COVID – 19 are responding well to the treatment and their conditions are improving," it said.

The embassy said it is coordinating with the Japanese government and ship management company for health and welfare of all Indian nationals on board.

"The embassy is in constant touch with on board Indian nationals who are successfully braving out the situation and understand public health safety in such situations," it said in a statement.

The Embassy said it was making efforts for early de-boarding of all the Indians from the ship after the end of the quarantine period and was in discussions with the Japanese government and the ship management company for the disembarkation modalities.

The US on Monday evacuated its 340 nationals from the ship, of which 14 had the virus.

According to an AFP report, the UK government said it will evacuate its citizens on the ship.

The death toll from the epidemic climbed to 1,868 on Tuesday as 98 more people died of the disease in China and the total number of confirmed cases jumped to 72,436, officials said on Tuesday.

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

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