Two More Japan Officials Aboard Ship Contract Coronavirus

Two more officials sent to a cruise ship quarantined off Japan to help with on-board efforts to contain the deadly coronavirus have contracted the illness themselves, authorities said Monday

Tokyo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Feb, 2020 ) :Two more officials sent to a cruise ship quarantined off Japan to help with on-board efforts to contain the deadly coronavirus have contracted the illness themselves, authorities said Monday.

The announcement came as experts warned the next one to three weeks would be "crucial" to preventing widespread infections and as fears deepen that the isolation of the virus-stricken Diamond Princess has been ineffective.

A quarantine officer in his 50s and a health ministry official in his 40s both tested positive and are in hospital, the ministry said, after they were dispatched separately to the vessel earlier this month.

The new infections come after Japan Sunday reported a third death among people who spent time on the ship -- a man in his 80s who died from pneumonia.

Six officials linked to containment work on the boat have now tested positive, fuelling doubts about the effectiveness of the quarantine.

"We don't know at the moment through what routes the infections occurred. We'll find out and take measures," a ministry official told reporters.