COVID-19: 4 Indians on-board Diamond Princess test positive, toll rises to 12

Four Indian crew members of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, moored off the Japan coast, have tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Indian embassy in Japan informed on Sunday. The latest additions have taken the total number of Indians infected with the virus on the vessel to 12. The four individuals had undergone tests for the virus along with others still onboard the docked ship.

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12 Indians infected

The embassy also said that the 12 Indians infected are undergoing treatment and responding well to it. Earlier, eight Indians were tested positive for the COVID-19. On Saturday, the embassy had said that Indians still on board the Diamond Princess will be tested for the virus infection along with others after all the healthy passengers have disembarked.

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Steady disembarkations

Passengers showing no signs of the deadly disease started deboarding the Diamond Princess after the quarantine period ended last week. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that over 1,000 passengers and crew will remain on board the ship after the disembarkations. On Saturday, around 100 more passengers, who were in close contact with the infected people on board, were allowed the deboard the ship.

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The sailing infection

A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew and 6 passengers, were among the 3,711 people, onboard the ship when it docked at the Yokohama port, near Tokyo, on February 3. It was quarantined after a passenger who disembarked last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the disease. The ship has the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases outside China. Two former passengers of the ship have also died.

(With PTI inputs)

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