Israeli with fever on ship off Japan coast suspected of contracting coronavirus

An Israeli woman with a fever on board a quarantined cruise ship off the Japanese coast is awaiting the results of a test for coronovirus, the Foreign Ministry said.

The woman was not named. Eight to 14 Israelis are believed to be on the vessel.

Japanese media reported earlier Monday that around 60 more people aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess moored off Japan have been diagnosed with coronavirus, raising the number of infected passengers and crew to around 130.

Last week the Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had been in contact with families of those on board and is “monitoring the situation via the consul in Tokyo” and its department for Israelis abroad.

The Diamond Princess has been in quarantine since arriving off the Japanese coast early last week after the virus was detected in a former passenger who got off the ship last month in Hong Kong.

When the boat arrived off Japan, authorities initially tested nearly 300 people for the virus of the 3,711 on board, gradually evacuating dozens who were infected to local medical facilities.

In recent days, testing has expanded to those with new symptoms or who had close contact with other infected passengers or crew, and several more cases were reported over the weekend.

Those who remain on the ship have been asked to stay inside their cabins and allowed only briefly onto open decks.

They have been asked to wear masks and keep a distance from each other when outside, and given thermometers to regularly monitor their temperatures.

The ship is expected to stay in quarantine until February 19 — 14 days after the isolation period began.

China on Monday said 908 people had died of the virus on the mainland and over 40,170 had been infected.

More than 360 cases have been confirmed outside mainland China, including two deaths in Hong Kong and the Philippines.