11 Filipinos on cruise ship quarantined off Japan so far positive for COVID-19 – DFA

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 11 Filipinos aboard the cruise ship docked off Yokohama in Japan have so far tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) since the ship was quarantined early February.

In a statement on Thursday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said all of the COVID-19-infected Filipinos are currently “confined in various hospitals in and around the Tokyo area.”

“As of 13 February 2020, the total number of Filipinos who have tested positive for COVID-19 is 11,” the DFA said in its update.

Based on information from the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, the 11 Filipinos are all crew members.

The first Filipino who tested positive for the virus aboard the Diamond Princess was a crew member of the cruise ship.

According to the DFA, over 500 Filipinos are aboard the quarantined ship.

“There are no Filipinos included in a new group of 44 persons who tested positive for the virus today,” the DFA, meanwhile, said.

The DFA said the embassy is regularly communicating with the Filipinos in the hospitals and “note that they are responding well to treatment.”

“The Embassy, in coordination with the Japanese Government, is sending care packages containing toiletries and non-medical supplies to Filipinos who are in the hospital as well as those who remain on board the Diamond Princess,” the DFA said.

“An Embassy Team also visited the hospitals this afternoon to speak with the doctors and social workers assigned to the Filipino patients in order to ensure their well-being,” it added.