In Yokohama, Japan, the first 500 people went ashore with the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which became the largest outbreak of COVID-2019 coronavirus infection outside mainland China. On Wednesday, February 19, a two-week quarantine ended on the ship, and passengers who did not have a virus detected left the ship.

According to the Russian embassy in Japan, two Russian citizens went ashore.

“Today, two Russian citizens left the liner, who will soon return to their homeland. Embassy staff accompanied them, assisted in resolving visa issues, ”the diplomatic mission said.

They noted that at the present time, an order is being negotiated with the Japanese authorities, according to which the remaining citizens of the Russian Federation will leave the ship. It is noted that they should also return to Russia in the near future.

In total, about 3,700 passengers and crew were on board the Diamond Princess, including 24 Russian citizens. The first case of COVID-2019 on the liner was recorded during the cruise on the 20th of January - an elderly man with signs of the disease left in Hong Kong.

Upon returning to Yokohama, the ship was prohibited from entering the port. Japanese experts began to check passengers for the presence of the virus, quarantine was introduced. As a result, the diagnosis was confirmed in 542 people. One Russian appeared to be among the infected - two cases had previously been reported, but one of them was not confirmed.

A sick Russian is currently undergoing treatment at a medical institution in Aichi Prefecture. According to the embassy, ​​the course of the disease in him passes without symptoms, he feels normal. His wife, whose diagnosis was not confirmed, continues to be under the supervision of doctors because of the high risk of infection.

“The trend may change”

One of the complications of the severe course of the coronavirus infection COVID-2019 is pneumonia. The infection began to spread in the Chinese city of Wuhan in mid-December. According to the State Committee on Hygiene and Health Care of the PRC, as a result, more than 2 thousand people became victims of the disease, and the number of infected exceeded 74.2 thousand. About 14.3 thousand patients recovered (more than 19%).

Moreover, the mortality rate from this disease is about 2.7%; the rest are under the supervision of doctors. About 15% of patients are in serious condition, another 3.2% are in critical condition.

As the Chinese authorities noted, less and less cases of the disease are detected every day. “On February 17, the number of confirmed cases of infection is reduced over 14 days,” TASS quoted Mi Feng as the representative of the State Committee for Health.

However, the World Health Organization is urging caution in this indicator. WHO Director-General Tedros Adan Gebreyesus admitted that the trend could change.

“The data indicate a decrease in the number of new cases. This tendency needs to be interpreted very carefully. The trend may change as new populations are affected. It’s early to say whether this decline will continue, ”he said during a briefing in Geneva.

Speaking about the course of the disease, Gebreyesus said that the vast majority of patients (80%) tolerate it to a mild degree. In about 14%, a serious form of the disease occurs, including pneumonia and shortness of breath. In about 5% of patients, coronavirus is extremely difficult. For the rest, the infection becomes fatal, and the risk of death directly depends on the patient's age - the older the patient, the more likely a fatal outcome.

Spread around the world

Cases of COVID-2019 have been reported almost worldwide, with the exception of South America. In Africa and the Middle East, we are talking about isolated cases, but in other regions the situation is somewhat more complicated. In total, more than 800 cases of the disease were diagnosed outside of China, and several people died.

In Russia, COVID-2019 was discovered in two citizens of the PRC - they were hospitalized, treated and discharged from the hospital.

Many countries have limited passenger traffic with China and introduced measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Russia also took similar steps, which suspended the passage of Chinese citizens through the state border. The ban will take effect on February 20.

We are talking about those Chinese who enter the country "in order to carry out labor activities, for private, educational and tourist purposes," explained in the operational headquarters to prevent the importation and spread of new coronavirus infection in Russia. These measures will not affect transit passengers.

We will remind that earlier 144 citizens of the Russian Federation and the CIS countries were evacuated from China by Russian planes, who sent a corresponding request to the Russian Embassy. They were placed in a two-week quarantine in the Tyumen region - it also expires on February 19 and, according to doctors, not a single case of the disease has been recorded.