I’m sure Japan isn’t happy to have 61 extra people in its hospital beds that need care which I’m sure they hadn’t planned on.
I did see a photo online of some passenger’s photo meeting entitled breakfast. It was juice, toast, boiled eggs, fresh fruit, coffee. The food was on paper plates. I wonder, since they are quarantined, if there food is being brought on board and served by someone other than the cruise line’s crew.
Agreed. I bet that is one of the reasons that Hong Kong put a stop to letting cruise ships come into port.
I believe Taiwan is also keeping cruise boats away—healthy passengers spending $$$ = great BUT sick passengers taking up medical resources = crunch on healthcare.
I hope you’re right, @doschicos, that someone else is bringing food and the crew is quarantined also.
You’re correct. It is Taiwan that is banning cruise ships. I confused it with Hong Kong but maybe they are too. I did read that Japan turned away at least one other cruise ship today. Don’t blame them after the one they are dealing with.
As far as I can tell, the CDC test is only qualified for use in people who exhibit symptoms.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/p0206-coronavirus-diagnostic-test-kits.html
Here is the definition of the person who meets the criteria:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/hcp/clinical-criteria.html
The lower the viral load, the lower the reliability of the test, so it makes sense that a symptomatic people are not tested. Plus, it would be a waste of resources to test everyone.
Speaking of tests:
“A research team from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology said on Thursday it had invented a portable detection device that can give a diagnosis in coronavirus cases in 40 minutes, while the University of Macau is working on a kit that may be able to detect the virus in less than 30 minutes, even at early stages of infection.”
read for more details and analysis:
Here’s the article about a Taiwan banning cruise ships from docking.
Hong Kong has a quarantined ship:
An article with details about life onboard the quarantined ship. From this accounting, sounds like the ship’s crew are still the ones serving passengers although interaction time is very limited and meals are very plain with food supplies brought on board.
One of the articles I read said that China had four test kits and then had two more. It said that they had to test patients more than once because they could become positive after having one or more negative tests. The newer kits are supposed to have faster results, in about 30 minutes. No idea if it’s the same test in the article above or how many different tests there are out there.
That would be the most logical and reasonable approach. The WA patient was being assisted by the health dept.
Let’s not get the hopes high. Everyone and their PI will be trying to capitalize and raise funding based on the scare. Happens every time!
The current PCR machines, even the old and junky ones, can do the same thing in 30 minutes. Even in 20 minutes - PROVIDED that the sample is ready. How much do you folks know about sample prep for PCR? Just asking because I don’t want to type up a long post only to preach to the choir. 
Any PCR test will be under 30 min or so for the actual PCR reaction and readout of the result. What most don’t tell is how long it takes to process the sample so it would be PCR-ready.
Italy has agreed to resume some flights with China.
More info on the cruise ship docked in Yokohama.
"Japan’s Ministry of Defense said Thursday it would send Self-Defense Forces medical personnel to help out with treatment on the ship, and bring alongside a commercial passenger vessel to act as a temporary base. Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said he was considering testing other elderly and vulnerable people among the roughly 3,700 people aboard.
“Japan has banned a separate cruise ship – the Westerdam – from berthing at a port in the country, saying a person on the vessel was suspected to have contracted the virus.”
There is mention of moving some of the infected passengers to Tokyo. One of the confirmed cases is reported to be in “serious condition”.
WHO isn’t assigning the cruise ship cases to Japan’s count and is placing them in an “Others” category based on what the JHU site is using.
So if everyone turns those cruise ships away, where will they go? What if a patient needs to go to hospital?
Yikes! They also have to figure out how to get all the passengers medications, as they have many elderly who may have chronic conditions and are having their time away from by at least an extra two weeks. I know I do NOT routinely pack medications for an extra 2+ weeks when I travel, nor do I think most folks do.
Indeed it is a big issue to figure out what to do with passengers who may need medical attention if no countries want them due to fears of infection, having their system overburdened, etc.
I am rereading „The great mortality” about the spread of the Black Death in 1348 (yeah, it’s relaxing me while the whole family is sick) and I am reminded of the Genoese death ships, fleeing the Tartars and spreading the plague all over the Mediterranean, throwing the dead overboard and trying to hog their wares in the next port. Cities and ports began driving them away with fire arrows, and some ghost ships were never seen or heard from again.
Have there been any stories about people who had the virus and are now well?
I see on the JHU site they have a section with numbers for people who are discharged from hospitals. It doesn’t seem like a large number.
Must be devastating for the cruise industry as the spring travel season starts. Hopefully it will be over soon, but a bad time to take a cruise