The new coronavirus has killed two more people. It is an octogenarian woman and man from the quarantined liner in Japan who had been infected, the state television NHK and other media reported on Thursday. Confirmation of this information by the Ministry of Health could not be obtained immediately.
These two victims would be the first fatal cases among the more than 600 confirmed carriers of the virus on the cruise ship. The two octogenarians were suffering from pre-existing conditions and had been evacuated from the boat on February 11 and 12, said NHK.
621 cases listed on board the vessel
Tokyo had announced in the evening of Wednesday 79 new carriers of the coronavirus on board, which brings the total number of cases listed on the Diamond Princess to 621, making this cruise ship docked in the port of Yokohama, in the suburbs of Tokyo, the largest source of the virus outside of China.
On Wednesday, 443 passengers disembarked. The evacuation of all passengers should take at least three days. The symptomless cruise lines, whose tests were negative and who had no contact with people carrying the virus, disembarked throughout the day, after 14 days of quarantine.