By Roy Mabasa
The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo is closely and actively monitoring the welfare of Filipinos on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, currently under quarantine off the port of Yokohama, Japan as part of the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) prevention protocol being implemented by the Japanese government.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the cruise ship was quarantined when one of the passengers tested positive for nCoV.
“Since then and after this time, 10 persons onboard the cruise ship, including one Filipino, have tested positive for the virus and will be transferred to a healthcare facility. The other passengers have been asked to remain on board the ship for the required 14-day quarantine period,” the DFA said in the statement.
None of the 10 infected people - three each from Japan and Hong Kong, two Australians, one American and the Filipino crew member - had severe symptoms, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.
A total of 538 Filipinos are said to be on board the ship.
The DFA also said the Embassy in Tokyo is in constant communication with the remaining Filipinos onboard and is closely coordinating with Japanese authorities to provide them all possible assistance.
Similarly, the Embassy has already established communications with Magsaysay Lines, the manning agency of the crewmember.
Apart from the crewmembers, there were also seven Filipinos reportedly listed as passengers of the cruise ship.
The Department of Health (DOH) reported that the Philippines has three confirmed cases of the 2019-nCoV involving Chinese nationals from Wuhan, China: a 38-year-old Chinese woman who is reportedly recovering; a 44-year old Chinese man who died due to the virus; and a 60-year old Chinese female.
DOH also noted that there are 133 persons under investigation (PUI) in the country for possible coronavirus infection.
The crew member onboard Diamond Princess cruise is the first reported case of a Filipino national who tested positive for nCoV.
(With a report from Reuters and Merlina Hernando-Malipot)