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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Fionnula Hainey

Thousands quarantined on cruise ship as 10 passengers confirmed to have coronavirus

Ten passengers who were on a cruise ship docked in Japan have tested positive for coronavirus.

Nearly 3,000 passengers have now been put in quarantine on board the Diamond Princess.

The ship was docked in Yokohama Bay after an 80-year-old passenger who left the ship in Hong Kong on January 25 tested positive for coronavirus.

A British couple who are on the ship told reporters that all passengers were tested for the virus on Monday night.

The 10 passengers whose tests came back positive have been taken to hospital while those remaining have been confined to their rooms.

David Abel, from Northamptonshire, who is on board the ship with his wife Sally, said they were left without food for 18 hours, from Monday night to Tuesday morning.

He claims he was told by a member of staff on board that the food service had been temporarily suspended over fears that that was where the virus had originated.

A sandwich and some bread rolls were eventually taken to their cabin.

Quarantine Officials on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that has been quarantined in Japan (David Abel)

For the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak, follow our live blog here.

"Nothing changed except for food," he said. "It now is a sandwich for every meal. We are no longer on a luxury cruise, that's for sure."

On Tuesday, the UK Foreign Office urged all British nationals to leave China after the outbreak continued to claim lives.

A total of 94 UK nationals and family members have been repatriated to Britain from Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, on two flights which arrived on Friday and Sunday.

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak continues to rise with Chinese authorities reporting 490 victims and an increase in the number of cases to 24,324.

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