Indian Crew, Passengers Quarantined on Cruise Ship off Japan

3,700 people on board face a two-week quarantine in their cabins. EAM said no Indians on board have tested positive.

Some passengers seen on the Diamond Princess as the cruise ship is anchored at Yokohama Port for supplies replenished in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Thursday, 6 February 2020.

(Photo: AP)

Several Indian crew members and passengers on board a cruise ship have been quarantined off Japan in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday, 7 February.

He said none of them have tested positive and India is closely following the developments.

"Many Indian crew and some Indian passengers are on board the cruise ship Diamond Princess quarantined off Japan due to Coronavirus. None have tested positive, as per the latest information provided by our Embassy (in Tokyo). We are closely following the developments," Jaishankar said in a tweet.

Passengers stand on the balcony of the cruise ship Diamond Princess anchored at the Yokohama Port in Yokohama, near Tokyo Friday, 7 February 2020. 

India has so far reported three confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (nCoV) from Kerala. Three medical students studying at the Wuhan University, who returned to India recently, tested positive for the virus.

The death toll in China's novel coronavirus outbreak has gone up to 637 with 73 new mortalities reported, mostly from the worst-affected Hubei province. The total number of confirmed cases has crossed 31,000 in China.