Passengers on quarantined cruise ship flown home, some infected

Written by: Jake Love, staff writer

DAYTON, Tenn.—From news wires and the Washington Post: Approximately 600 of the 3,700 passengers of the the Diamond Princess, a Japanese cruise ship that was under coronavirus quarantine, were flown home on Wednesday, Feb. 20. The ship has been docked in the harbor of Yokohama, Japan since Feb. 3. 

The ship left for a 15-day cruise on Jan. 29, but was sent back to Yokohama after a passenger contracted the virus on Feb. 1. After arriving on Feb. 3, passengers received the news from Japanese authorities that they weren’t allowed to leave the ship for fear of spreading the virus. The ship remained docked in Yokohama while the quarantine went into effect. 

Passengers remained under quarantine from that point forward, where suboptimal conditions contributed to the fast spread of the virus aboard the ship. Passengers were confined to their rooms where meals were brought to them by workers. Three elderly passengers have died aboard the ship from the virus. 

600 of the passengers were allowed to fly to their homes after two and a half weeks of quarantine. However, confusion rose when 14 of the passengers scheduled to leave tested positive for the virus.  

According to The Washington Post, a debate occurred in D.C. on whether to fly the infected passengers. Officials from the State Department argued that it was safe to fly the infected individuals because they exhibited no symptoms and could be quarantined on the plane.

 The CDC, however, maintained that allowing the passengers to fly could contribute to the spread of the disease. 

The State Department won out and flew the passengers home quarantined. They were set to seek hospital care upon return. 
As of Feb. 23, 78,994 people are known to have contracted coronavirus, and 2,470 have died from it, all related to Communist China. The Triangle’s own Josh Bianchi has an article documenting a broader view of coronavirus’s impact. 

Passengers remained under quarantine from that point forward, where suboptimal conditions contributed to the fast spread of the virus aboard the ship. Passengers were confined to their rooms where meals were brought to them by workers. Three elderly passengers have died aboard the ship from the virus. 

600 of the passengers were allowed to fly to their homes after two and a half weeks of quarantine. However, confusion rose when 14 of the passengers scheduled to leave tested positive for the virus.  

According to The Washington Post, a debate occurred in D.C. on whether to fly the infected passengers. Officials from the State Department argued that it was safe to fly the infected individuals because they exhibited no symptoms and could be quarantined on the plane.

 The CDC, however, maintained that allowing the passengers to fly could contribute to the spread of the disease. 

The State Department won out and flew the passengers home quarantined. They were set to seek hospital care upon return. 

As of Feb. 23, 78,994 people have knowingly contracted coronavirus, and 2,470 have died from it. The Triangle’s own Josh Bianchi has an article documenting the true scope of coronavirus’s impact.  

* This article has been edited for clarity.

Jake Love is a staff writer for the Triangle. He is an English major with an emphasis on creative writing and is from Soddy-Daisy, Tenn. He enjoys reading and consuming large amounts of caffeine.