Miami-based Carnival Corporation confirmed Monday that a passenger on one of its Princess Cruises ships tested positive for coronavirus in the week after disembarking in Hong Kong on Jan. 25.
The Diamond Princess ship is being held at the Yokohama, Japan, port Monday outside Tokyo for 24 hours while Japanese officials check the health of crew members and passengers on board, the company said in a statement. The ship arrived in Yokohama early from a 14-day round trip voyage, which departed from Yokohama on Jan. 20 and was scheduled to return on Feb. 4.
The passenger, who tested positive for the virus on Feb. 1, sailed on the ship from Yokohama on Jan. 20 to Hong Kong on Jan. 25.
Reuters reported that the passenger is an 80-year-old man who flew to Japan to board the ship. He developed a cough the day before embarking, Reuters said the Japan Broadcasting Corporation NKH reported, but did not develop a fever until Jan. 30.
While on the ship, the passenger did not visit the ship's medical center, the company said, and did not report an illness. According to the company, the man is in stable condition and the family members he was traveling with are not showing symptoms.
There are 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members on board the Diamond Princess ship, the company said.
"The safety, security and well-being of all guests and crew is our absolute priority," Princess Cruises said in a statement. "The review of the arriving guests and crew, by Japanese health authorities, is standard practice after a guest tested positive for coronavirus and we are working closely with the local authorities to provide detailed records to facilitate their review."
China has reported nearly 17,500 cases of the Wuhan coronavirus, which has killed 362 people, according to a global tracker from the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering. Japan has 20 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
