79 more people test positive for COVID-19 on Diamond Princess cruise ship

February 20, 2020 | 10:07
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An additional 79 cases of coronavirus have been discovered aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, the health ministry said Wednesday (Feb 19), bringing the total to 621.
79 more people test positive for covid 19 on diamond princess cruise ship
A passenger leaves after disembarking the Diamond Princess cruise ship at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama on Feb 19, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Charly Triballeau)

The new figures come as an initial batch of passengers began disembarking after enduring a 14-day quarantine and then testing negative for the virus.

The ship is the biggest cluster outside China, where new figures showed the death toll surging beyond 2,000 with more than 74,000 infected. Hundreds more cases have been reported in two dozen countries.

The United States evacuated more than 300 citizens from the ship on Monday, and more countries are following suit.

Agencies/AFP

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