Hospitalized in a local hospital: on a Diamond Princess liner, a Russian woman found a coronavirus

On a cruise ship Diamond Princess, which is in quarantine at the Japanese port of Yokohama, a citizen of Russia became infected with a new coronavirus.

“During a medical examination carried out by the Japanese authorities for all passengers of the vessel for infection with COVID-19, the coronavirus was detected in a Russian citizen on board. In the near future, the Russian woman will be taken to the hospital, where she will undergo a course of treatment, ”the Russian embassy said.

The embassy added that the woman did not apply for evacuation. She is hospitalized in a local hospital, where she will be under the supervision of Japanese specialists.

One of the passengers of Diamond Princess, a dentist from Omsk Sergey Popov, in an interview with RT, said that after confirming the diagnosis, a Russian citizen did not strengthen any safety measures on the liner. The man confirmed that the quarantine should be lifted at seven in the morning of February 19, and for now passengers remain in the cabins, leaving the deck for only an hour's walk. The liner's staff is trying to diversify the leisure of quarantined people and provides moral support to guests who feel psychological discomfort, he added.

The ship has been quarantined since February 5. On board are 3.4 thousand people, the number of cases has increased to 454.

A number of countries, in particular Israel, China, Canada, South Korea, Australia, Greece, Italy, announced their intention to evacuate their citizens from the ship. Thus, the United States removed more than 300 people who, after returning, will be placed in quarantine for two weeks. About 40 more Americans who become infected with coronavirus remain in Japanese hospitals.

The number of cases of new coronavirus worldwide is approaching 72 thousand, 1775 people became victims of the disease.

The Israeli Ministry of Health announced the introduction of a mandatory two-week quarantine for people arriving from Asia, due to the threat of the spread of the virus.

“After assessing the situation by a commission led by the Minister of Health, it was decided to extend quarantine to those who returned from Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Macau,” RIA Novosti quotes an extract from the press service of the department.

In turn, a spokesman for the European Commission Stefan de Keersmacker during the briefing said that the situation with the spread of the disease in the EU has not changed compared to last week, the number of infections has remained the same.

“We have only one fatal case, and we know that the situation is more likely positive, but high readiness remains, the European Commission does not weaken attention to this problem,” he said.

Meanwhile, researchers at Nankai University of China said they had developed a new method for the rapid diagnosis of the disease. The proposed test, as reported in China, is more effective and allows you to get the results of blood tests of patients with suspected coronavirus infection within 15 minutes.

Chinese authorities continue to implement measures to combat the spread of the disease. Earlier it became known that in some regions of the country extended holidays, and a number of hospitals have introduced the practice of online consultation for patients so that they avoid crowded places. Now in Beijing they canceled the premiere of the 25th James Bond movie “No Time to Die” scheduled for April, as well as a large-scale advertising tour around the country in support of the film. The premieres of the Hollywood films “1917”, “The Amazing Journey of Dr. Doolittle”, “Little Women” and “Jojo the Rabbit” were also postponed.

Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov said that Russia is interacting with China on the fight against the disease.

“We are very closely cooperating with our Chinese colleagues both through the foreign affairs agencies, and through our sanitary and epidemiological services, and ministries of health. As you know, a delegation of Russian experts visited China in connection with the current outbreak of a new disease, ”he said.

In Russia, no new cases of coronavirus infection were detected, said Anna Popova, the head of Rospotrebnadzor. At the same time, she said that the department is considering measures to tighten liability for violation of the quarantine regime. Popopva came up with this proposal after four people who suspected coronavirus had voluntarily left the Botkin Hospital in St. Petersburg.