Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia Report Virus Cases on Cruise Ship in Japan

Jason Gutierrez, Tia Asmara and Muzliza Mustafa
2020.02.18
Manila, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur
200218_ID-CoronaVirus-Ship_1000.jpg Quarantined passengers stand on balconies on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama, Japan, Feb. 18, 2020.
AFP

Dozens of Filipinos along with Malaysians and Indonesians tested positive for the coronavirus after being quarantined since Feb. 3 aboard the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship docked at Yokohama, Japan, officials announced Tuesday.

In Manila, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs announced eight new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, bringing the total number of Filipinos diagnosed on the ship to 35, all crew members. They are among more than 500 Filipinos on the ship carrying about 3,700 passengers and crew.

“The Filipinos who tested positive for COVID-19 were immediately transferred to Japanese hospitals and are now undergoing treatment,” the foreign affairs ministry announced.

It said the Japanese government was to release a plan to allow those still aboard the ship but who have not tested positive for COVID-19 to leave on Wednesday, the end of a two-week quarantine.

Outside of China, the Diamond Princess represents the largest cluster of confirmed cases of the mystery virus. More than 540 on the ship have tested positive and are undergoing treatment, according to wire service reports.

“The embassy is coordinating with all relevant Philippine and Japanese government agencies and is meeting with senior management representatives of Princess Cruises to ensure an orderly and safe repatriation of Filipinos once they clear the Japanese quarantine requirements,” the foreign affairs department said.

In Jakarta, the Indonesian government announced that citizens had tested positive for COVID-19 as well.

“We received the information that three of the 78 Indonesian crew members on the crew ship had been confirmed (to be infected with the coronavirus),” Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said.

Two of those infected had been taken to a hospital in Chiba City for treatment while the third patient was in the process of being evacuated to a hospital, according to officials

Retno said she will be traveling to Laos for a meeting Wednesday between Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers and Chinese officials to discuss efforts to contain COVID-19.

In Kuala Lumpur, Noor Hisham Abdullah, Malaysia’s director-general of health, said two Malaysians on board the Diamond Princess had tested positive for the coronavirus, but he did not specify whether they were passengers or crew members. The government was awaiting notification of test results on two others, he said in a brief statement.

While passengers were quarantined, crew members continued to deliver food, letters, towels and amenities and enter rooms to clean, the Associated Press reported. In addition, the crew members prepared their own meals and ate in groups in a mess hall.

The outbreak of COVID-19 remains centered in China, home to more than 72,500 of the 73,300 cases reported, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, most of the 1,870 deaths have been recorded in China.

At least four people have died outside of China after being infected with the virus, including one person in the Philippines.

The latest news comes days after an unidentified American woman was the first confirmed case among passengers and crew on a Holland America Line ship, the M.V. Westerdam. The ship sailed from Hong Kong and ported in Cambodia where authorities on Feb. 13 declared the 2,200 passengers and crew to be free of COVID-19.

The woman and her husband were tested twice in Kuala Lumpur after showing symptoms while being screened at the international airport after arriving a chartered flight. While he tested negative, his wife tested positive in both tests, Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said in a statement on Sunday.

She is the 22nd confirmed COVID-19 victim in Malaysia.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi discusses the fate of three Diamond Princess crew members during a press conference in Jakarta, Feb. 18, 2020. [Tia Asmara/BenarNews]
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi discusses the fate of three Diamond Princess crew members during a press conference in Jakarta, Feb. 18, 2020. [Tia Asmara/BenarNews]

Travel restriction lifted

Even as the Philippines and its neighbors see cases of COVID-19 increase despite efforts by the Chinese government to lock down Wuhan, the city of 11 million that has been considered the epicenter for the outbreak, the Philippine government lifted a travel ban to regions of China.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said workers who had returned to the Philippines would be able to travel to two special administrative regions in China as long as they stated that they were aware of the outbreak.

“Secretary of Health [Francisco] Duque confirmed that the inter-agency task force for emerging infectious disease has decided to lift the travel ban of the overseas workers going to Macau and Hong Kong. And according to him, those OFWs going back would have to make a written declaration that they know the risk of going back to their places of work,” he told reporters.

“For those coming back from Macau and Hong Kong, the families of Filipinos who are there can come back as well as those having permanent residence holders as well as the members of diplomatic corps and families,” Panelo said.

The Philippines has recorded three cases of COVID-19, including the first death outside of China – a 44-year-old Chinese man admitted to a Manila hospital on Jan. 25 died Feb. 1. Thailand has recorded 35 cases and Malaysia 22, according to WHO.

Meanwhile, the chairman of Indonesia’s Presidential Advisory Council, Wiranto, pointed out there had been no cases reported in his country, the most populous in Southeast Asia.

“This is because Indonesia has put maximum effort into how to mitigate the coronavirus,” he said Monday during a meeting with WHO officials.

Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto offered prayer as a reason for Indonesia’s success.

“Praying is a very noble thing. Let other countries question it. It’s our country’s right to rely on prayer,” he said. “Why be ashamed of relying on the almighty?”

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