Two Diamond Princess cruise ship passengers, both in their 80s, have died from COVID-19. These were the first fatalities from the ship. The Japanese government let 500 more passengers off the ship on Feb. 20, but many believe that the passengers released from the ship shouldn't have been allowed on public transportation and have expressed a lack of confidence in the Japanese government's quarantine and inspection measures.


The two Diamond Princess passengers, both in their 80s, have succumbed to COVID-19, bringing the death toll in Japan to three. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare says everyone on the ship has been tested. A total of 443 passengers that tested negative were allowed to disembark on the 19th; 90 percent were Japanese nationals. An additional 500 passengers, half Japanese and half foreign nationals, were allowed to disembark on the 20th.

I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

All I want to do is go home, shower and sleep.

Many countries are sending charter planes to bring citizens home. The 180 nationals picked up by Australia will be quarantined for 14 days in an abandoned mining camp near Darwin International Airport. Italy's charter plane, meanwhile, is en route to Japan and will pick up 30 Italian nationals and 26 other European nationals. The group will be quarantined for 14 days at an air force base near Rome.

Have you made arrangements for a quarantine site? Yes, at an air force base. It is a very comfortable site. Staff at the base are already preparing for the passengers' arrival.

One hundred and six Hong Kong citizens were flown back to Hong Kong on the 20th as well. They are being quarantined for 14 days at the Chun Yeung Estate. Fifty-five of the 352 Hong Kong citizens on board the ship tested positive for COVID-19 and remain in Japan for treatment. A number of countries have criticized Japan for the way it has handled the situation, especially for allowing disembarked passengers onto public transportation. Around half of the 600-plus confirmed cases still on board the ship tested positive without any symptoms, which means they may unknowingly infect others. One Japanese expert that inspected the ship has stated publicly that quarantine measures on board were chaotic and many people were not wearing masks or protective garments.



「鑽石公主號」首次發生死亡個案，兩名80多歲確診乘客不治死亡，這也使日本境內的死亡人數達到3人。日本厚生勞動省宣布，對「鑽石公主號」郵輪所有人實施檢疫，19號已讓檢驗結果"陰性"的443名乘客下船，下船的約九成都是日本人，20號預計將會有500人下船，日本人和非日本人的比例約各占一半。

鑽石公主號19日下船乘客表示：「鬆了一口氣。」

鑽石公主號19日下船乘客表示：「我只想回家洗澡睡覺。」

各國接回郵輪上國民的包機也陸續抵達，澳洲的撤僑班機，接回船上180名澳洲人，已經抵達澳洲達爾文機場，將會轉往機場附近廢棄的礦工營區隔離14天。而義大利的專機也已經前往日本，預計將接回30名義大利人和26名其他歐洲國家公民，抵達後將被送往羅馬附近的一個空軍基地隔離14天。

義大利民防官員 波瑞利表示：「(你會安排一個隔離地點嗎？) 會，是一個空軍基地，那裡非常舒適，目前基地人員，已經在為這些乘客的抵達做準備。」

香港第一批接回106名郵輪香港乘客包機，20號上午抵達香港，將被送往沙田區火炭駿洋邨，接受14天的隔離檢疫。郵輪上有352名香港人，55人確診感染，留在日本的醫院治療。

鑽石公主號郵輪成為中國以外的重災區，更被外界稱為"小武漢"，日本當局對郵輪集中隔離的做法備受質疑，各國對日本的檢疫沒有信心，當局允許下船的人，搭乘公共交通運輸回家，引發各界疑慮，目前船上6百多名確診患者中，約五成確診時都無症狀，可能無意間散播病毒，一名曾到船上調察的日本專家公布影片，批評船上的隔離措施混亂，很多人沒有戴口罩、防護衣，根本不知道病毒在哪裡，防不勝防。