Diamond Princess passenger "tested positive for Wuhan coronavirus"

[npcl]

49 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

The question is, afre they going to allow people to go to the airport and leave after the 14 days?

I would expect that they will interview each person, may require some additional testing, as part of the clearance process.  As long as the number of people with new symptoms drop off as would be expected in quarantine then I would expect them to let them off as they are cleared.  I would not be surprised that the clearance process might include as part of the schedule the flight arrangements for those leaving the country and that when they are cleared they are taken directly to the airport.  I would also expect each person to get instructions about self monitoring and to contact health authorities in their home countries if any new symptoms were to develop.

 

I would also not be surprised in additional quarantine period might be put in place for the crew who was far less isolated depending upon if any new cases show up 

Edited February 14, 2020 by npcl

[Cruise Raider]

4 hours ago, Psoque said:

I agree that the language barrier is a problem, and we can all agree that the ways to overcome that barrier would solve the problem.  But I am not sure exactly what you mean by "really not acceptable."  What is not acceptable.  It sounds like the barrier is not being addressed either intentionally or by neglect.  The healthcare professionals dealing with this quarantine, many of them volunteers (not getting paid at all), are doing this because they want to help.  Criticizing their possible lack of English fluency (or fluency in any other language) is inappropriate and it is coming from our sense of privilege.

 

For instance, hospitals in the US must use a reliable translation service when the patient does not speak English.  Even though a family member or close friend may be bi-lingual, the policies / regulations state that a translator must be used to ensure there is no miscommunication.  I think the caveat to that is if the medical professional, his or her self, is fluent in the language of the patient.  I'm not discounting that the fact that some of these patients may be not be met with those same 'acceptable communication standards', as, it could lead to some harm.  These are the chances we take when visiting foreign lands, though.  It is all speculation on our part ... they may have those same policies in place. ???  It sounds like a large percentage of the passengers are Japanese so no issues should arise there.  And ...  kudos to the volunteers that are helping!  

 

[oskidunker]

So these people on the ship are going to Have make last minute air reservations and pay a-lot yo do so . Some may not have ghe money necessary to fo this. 
 

The airlines should show some compassion for these people and help them get home.

[SunNFunCruzer]

The CDC Director is anticipating local Community spread, in the US, as described in the link below:

 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/13/health/coronavirus-cdc-robert-redfield-gupta-intv/index.html

 

The CDC has also issued guidelines asking any community doctor/hospital/center/cruiseship etc with a "cluster" of people with serious respiratory issues, like Pneumonia, to report the patient info to the CDC.  Footnote 4 in the CDC link below explains this, and explains that these patients do not need to have a nexus to China and/or Wuhan or someone who they know has traveled there. 

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-criteria.html

 

I suggest that anyone having fevers/Pneumonia, etc. who has recently been on a ship, notify their medical team immediately that they recently cruised and should notify the cruiseline in writing including ship, date of debarkation and onset of symptoms. 

 

Once passengers disembark and return to their residential communities, even if they were infected on the ship, it would be hard to know about a "cluster" potentially before it's too late. Notifying the cruiseline would allow the information to be acted upon more quickly.

[Psoque]

41 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

For instance, hospitals in the US must use a reliable translation service when the patient does not speak English.  Even though a family member or close friend may be bi-lingual, the policies / regulations state that a translator must be used to ensure there is no miscommunication.  I think the caveat to that is if the medical professional, his or her self, is fluent in the language of the patient.  I'm not discounting that the fact that some of these patients may be not be met with those same 'acceptable communication standards', as, it could lead to some harm.  These are the chances we take when visiting foreign lands, though.  It is all speculation on our part ... they may have those same policies in place. ???  It sounds like a large percentage of the passengers are Japanese so no issues should arise there.  And ...  kudos to the volunteers that are helping!  

 

I was typing this in a hurry, but what I meant was that the quoted poster and the poster before that was making this flippant remark based on no evidence that a language barrier is making it difficult for non-Japanese speaking people on Diamond Princess, and that this "problem," whether it is a case or not, is unacceptable.  This is a classic case of "us vs them" echo chamber effect among the ignorant.  I had to speak up because I did not like where the conversation was going.

 

Of course, as healthcare provider myself, I am highly aware of a need for a (preferably live) interpreter if the provider and the patient do not speak the same language, and I do insist on having one if necessary.  Actually, I even go one more step by strongly insisting a live interpreter instead of a phone-based one with my patients.  I also insist that the translator be not a family member.

 

I have no idea the English language proficiency of those who are taking care of the Diamond Princess passengers.  I would assume from my personal experience that most of the physicians should be proficient enough, but I'm assuming many of the support staff may not be.  Also, because of the urgent nature and sheer scale of the situation, as well as the fact that they are in respiratory isolation (or should be in), it might be a challenge to have a live interpreter for every encounter.  And even if the caregivers are proficient enough and even the interpreter is present, there is bound to be some sort of cultural/language barrier that will continue to exist.

 

But my point is complaining about it (especially that may not even happening), and then commenting on this imaginary situation with comments like "that is unacceptable" is just entirely unhelpful.

[Earthworm Jim]

15 hours ago, Maverick61 said:

 

Don't count on it.

 

Unless the quarantine on the ship is extended until there are at least a full 14 days of no new cases presenting, Japan would be negligent to let them loose in their country without some additional quarantine period off the ship.

 

And if Japan lets them off without that additional quarantine period to go to a flight home, there probably is a strong likelihood of a quarantine period in their home country when they land 

 

If indeed the quarantining in their home country turned out to be true, they'd have a much bigger quarantine than just the people from the ship. Wouldn't all the people in the commercial airliner they took home (for the pax that aren't Japanese citizens) also have to be quarantined for the quarantine to have any meaning?

 

(In theory at least. I'm not saying it will happen.)

[ed01106]

2 minutes ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

If indeed the quarantining in their home country turned out to be true, they'd have a much bigger quarantine than just the people from the ship. Wouldn't all the people in the commercial airliner they took home (for the pax that aren't Japanese citizens) also have to be quarantined for the quarantine to have any meaning?

 

(In theory at least. I'm not saying it will happen.)

If a country like the USA is planning on quarantine on arrival.  The logical course of action would be charter ( or military) flight directly to quarantine location, rather than individuals taking commercial flight home and then quarantine on arrival at individual airports.   

[voljeep]

will the US provide a plane to get the Americans home - then preform strict medical tests and additional time in quarantine if needed ?

 

or once 'released' from the Diamond, everyone is on their own and will come back 'home' to multiple airports without additional tests/screenings … ?

[julia]

Hello Cruise Critic community:

This thread is a wealth of information, and many of you are providing timely and factual information.  Thank you for that. 

But... how about we take a pause from the "dissection" of Japanese foods, Japanese toilets, language barriers, etc, and focus our thoughts, prayers and discussion back to OUR fellow cruisers, officers, and crew (and their families). Each and every one of whom are under EXTREME DURESS, (either physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually). We need to support them with everything in our power from the Cruise Critic community.  Please, PLEASE surround them with your thoughts and prayers, as this unprecedented situation continues to unfold. I'm sure they will be most grateful to read our positive posts as we follow their stories.

 

[brisalta]

2 hours ago, oskidunker said:

So these people on the ship are going to Have make last minute air reservations and pay a-lot yo do so . Some may not have ghe money necessary to fo this. 
 

The airlines should show some compassion for these people and help them get home.

 

Why? Princess has already said they would arrange transport.

[HPSE81]

3 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Or it could just mean that no new cases have been detected as the focus for testing has changed from those showing possible symptoms to passengers over 80 or that have other health issues.

 

 

I have seen 1+ passanger reporting on twitter about 24 hours ago, that she the same day tested positiv and where taken of.. This was after the last update on 218-220 cases... So i doubt it.. 

[ceilidh1]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fear-and-boredom-aboard-the-quarantined-coronavirus-cruise-ship-11581705677?fbclid=IwAR1AE20O5aJLs-EwtnpuKzhXrbi2J08KTIosDzThEdi4fa3vwewRbe8xqWI

 

US are evacuating Americans?

[Just_Westy]

Looks the US is goingh to take it's passengers home, well done.

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fear-and-boredom-aboard-the-quarantined-coronavirus-cruise-ship-11581705677

 

Edited February 15, 2020 by Just_Westy
More information

[Pushka]

13 minutes ago, Just_Westy said:

Looks the US is goingh to take it's passengers home, well done.

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fear-and-boredom-aboard-the-quarantined-coronavirus-cruise-ship-11581705677

 

Seems unusual for people not to be wearing masks while on the balcony. And it sounds from what we can read without subscription that there may be another isolation period?

[arabrab]

I wonder how many of the infected will contaminate others on the flight home?

 

The article says that the likely quarantine in the US will be a further 14 days.

Edited February 15, 2020 by arabrab

[Kenswing]

Nothing yet on the U.S. Embassy site..  https://jp.usembassy.gov/updates-on-diamond-princess-quarantine/

[Pushka]

Just now, arabrab said:

I wonder how many of the infected will contaminate others on the flight home?

They won’t be allowed off the ship unless they’ve tested negative I believe. Maybe that’s changed. 

[SunNFunCruzer]

1 minute ago, Pushka said:

They won’t be allowed off the ship unless they’ve tested negative I believe. Maybe that’s changed. 

 

 

At this point, testing negative means little.

[Kenswing]

4 minutes ago, arabrab said:

I wonder how many of the infected will contaminate others on the flight home?

 

The article says that the likely quarantine in the US will be a further 14 days.

The State Department has contracted with Kalitta Air to evacuate Americans from China on their 747.  If they are going to evacuate from Japan they will most likely use the same aircraft.  It' will most likely fly to one of the designated military quarantine sites. 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

22 minutes ago, arabrab said:

I wonder how many of the infected will contaminate others on the flight home?

 

The article says that the likely quarantine in the US will be a further 14 days.

 

Everyone needs to start a 14 day isolated quarantine, aside from the sick already in hospital care.  This should greatly help Japan as they start their new phasing process, hopefully other countries will do the same.  

 

I see your point with circulating air, even sticking all the "healthy" together, maybe they'll be given respirators and face shields during the flight.

 

Edited February 15, 2020 by Stateroom_Sailor

[Germancruiser]

19 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

You obviously don't understand what an incubation period is. To put it simply it is the time between a person being infected with a virus to when the virus has multiplied sufficiently in the new host so that symptoms are apparent and any samples contain enough of the virus to be identified.

 

A quarantine merely allows those people suspected of having been in contact with the virus to ride out the incubation period whilst not coming in contact with anyone else during that period.

 

Your example did not indicate whether the group had been in individual quarantine, under strict conditions, or if they were merely quarantined at home. Also no timeline is given so there is no way to know whether the family members were infected before the quarantine, or during the quarantine as you imply.

Of course I know what an incubation period is- THATS WHY THEY WERE QUARANTAINED FOR TWO WEEKS.

Some people really think they have swallowed  all the  wisdom there is.

They were not allowed at home- of course. Most of them are released by now anways- without getting sick- thank god!

Edited February 15, 2020 by Germancruiser

[Snick500]

IF the US gets a plane to take home it’s citizens, I hope they take the Brits and Canadians on the flight too and drop them off at their airport or in the US if not possible to stop at other airports.

[sppunk]

Our friends just posted they were given cleaning supplies to clean the room, and got a letter saying they might receive new linens and towels (hasn’t been changed since the quarantine began nearly 2 weeks ago). 
 

His photos of them cleaning are hilarious. 

[bluesea321]

About 380 people will be offered seats on two evacuation flights from Japan back to the United States. The evacuees will arrive in the United States as early as Sunday, the newspaper said, citing Henry Walke, director of the CDC's Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections.

https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/02/14/world/asia/14reuters-china-health-japan-ship.html

[bluesea321]

Good summary here. Conditions are rapidly deteriorating on the ship according to an American doctor who is a pax on the ship. This apparently led to the planned evacuation.

https://nypost.com/2020/02/14/lawmakers-seek-evacuation-of-americans-from-cruise-ship-quarantined-over-coronavirus/

 

Also: The U.S. evacuees will likely arrive first at Travis Air Force Base in California, where they will undergo additional health screenings. Some may remain at Travis, where they will face a mandatory quarantine of up to 14 days, while others may be moved to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for quarantine, according to The WSJ.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/02/15/national/us-citizen-evacuate-yokohama-coronavirus/#.Xkdx7RNKjPA

Edited February 15, 2020 by bluesea321