'Six days to go:’ As coronavirus tears through ship, Japanese officials evacuate vulnerable passengers

CNBC ^ | 02/13/2020 | William Feuer

[SpeedyInTexas]

Japanese health officials are allowing the most vulnerable guests quarantined on the Diamond Princess docked just off of Yokohama to leave the cruise ship and complete their isolation on land, Carnival’s Princess Cruises said Thursday.

The decision comes as the company confirmed 44 new cases of the coronavirus, which the World Health Organization has named COVID-19, aboard the cruise ship. That brings the total number of confirmed cases from the ship to almost 220

[SpeedyInTexas]

EVERYONE can leave the ship to be quarantined on land, with most vulnerable evacuated first.

Common sense finally prevailed.

[BarbM]

Do the passenger’s risk of illness increase the longer they stay on the ship?

[SpeedyInTexas]

“A woman in her 80s in Japan infected with the new coronavirus died Thursday, Japan’s health minister said, marking the first known death in Japan related to the virus.”

Don’t think she was a cruise passenger.

[SpeedyInTexas]

There is concern that the virus is being spread on the ship via vents. This isn’t confirmed but suspected.

[beef]

The next few days are going to be interesting. It feels like cracks are forming in a facade, and the true extent of this problems will manifest itself whether they like it or not.

[Moonman62]

The decision comes as the company confirmed 44 new cases of the coronavirus, which the World Health Organization has named COVID-19, aboard the cruise ship. That brings the total number of confirmed cases from the ship to almost 220

...

I believe there is a total of 3700 passengers and crew.

[z3n]

I thought about that when I first started hearing about these cruise ships. I have no idea what kind of ventilation systems they have on these boats, but I would like to think that they can bring in 100% outside air, and not recirculate. Also, they should be quarantining the area where the fans and equipment are. I wont go so far as to say it’s common sense, but it’s definitely not rocket science. This is one of the first things they should have been working on.

[Moonman62]

Do the passenger’s risk of illness increase the longer they stay on the ship?

...

The passengers are isolated from each other on the ship. These new cases are test results being returned from suspected infections. I haven’t heard of any new suspected cases on the ship.

There’s a total of 3700 passengers and crew.

[bgill]

Bet a few of the food services are passing it along.

[arthurus]

This is the case I am watching because it involves a largish group of people, the whole passenger list and the source of knowledge is a reliablẹ (rare thing in the world) government source i.e. Japan. I wand to see how many die in this group and how many actually are/get sick. I am beginning to suspect that the number of deaths in China is directly related to exceedingly poor popular hygiene and to poor health systems. Even better would be tests of all the passengers for the virus, whether visibly sick or not. I remember in the SARS incident in 2003 a doctor did a study of the Trkish village that got international attention because of the "large" number of people who succumbed. As a ratio it turned out that was not a large number at all because virtually everyone in the village had antibodies and most had reported sniffles or mild cough. SARS was obviously far far more widespread than officially reported and the death rate much lower. As virii go SARS was actually fairly mild.

[Reno89519]

How can ther only be six more days? The newest cases need to be Quarantined for 14 days. There might pose infectious wrist to those already there, so there is a continued risk until it runs it’s course. Sad to say, the ship laboratory needs to stay quarantined until the virus has run its course entirely and then another two weeks passes.

[olepap]

My understanding is that coronavirus is part of a family of viruses that cause colds. Corona leads to bronchitis and pneumonia. Perhaps the Chinese are prone to bronchitis and pneumonia because they have horrible air pollution and lots of them smoke.

[Reno89519]

I read yesterday, and heard on the news report, I think Fox, that some of the new cases were among people totally isolated from the others, suggesting the virus was airborne, and less, someone was riding in the thread, it’s being passed along by staff.

[nomorelurker]

The ventilation system on the ship could spread the virus. Depends on the virus, don’t know if enough is known about this virus, re it’s transmission. From what I have heard, “smart people” on the ship have turned off ventilation in rooms with balcony and opened up door to balcony outside. They still have to open passageway door for food, etc. (all passengers are confined to rooms). Those with interior or window only rooms are stuck with ventilation. I think they are starting to evacuate those at high risk (age, etc.) in that group.

[PghBaldy]

It was shown in SARS (in same family as COVID-19) to happen like that. People on higher levels were more at risk:

Evidence of Airborne Transmission of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Virus

https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa032867

[mad_as_he$$]

History repeats itself. Poor hygiene, smog, poor living conditions. Where? Pittsburgh PA.

https://popularpittsburgh.com/pittsburgh-flu-epidemic-of-1918/

[Black Agnes]

Do you have a link for that? When I search with ‘turkey’ all I get are links to poultry papers.

[mad_as_he$$]

Most HVAC systems will not allow 100% “outside” air, at least the ones on land.

[null and void]

Hopefully none of them pull an Ebola nurse Kaci Hickox and go out for sushi...

Bring Out Your Dead

Post to me or FReep mail to be on/off the Bring Out Your Dead ping list.

The purpose of the “Bring Out Your Dead” ping list (formerly the “Ebola” ping list) is very early warning of emerging pandemics, as such it has a high false positive rate.

So far the false positive rate is 100%.

At some point we may well have a high mortality pandemic, and likely as not the “Bring Out Your Dead” threads will miss the beginning entirely.

*sigh* Such is life, and death...

If a quarantine saves just one child's life, it's worth it.

[yldstrk]

I bet there is no limit to how this thing spreads.