Passengers disembark coronavirus cruise ship in Japan but blocked from immediate return to US
American passengers of the Diamond Princess received a letter from the embassy in Tokyo informing them that they will not be permitted back to the U.S. for an additional 14 days; Jonathan Serrie reports.
Remaining passengers and crew on the coronavirus-quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship docked off Yokohama, Japan are being served meals from celebrity chef Jose Andres’ nonprofit disaster relief group World Central Kitchen (WCK.)
On Tuesday, Princess Cruises announced that WCK meals would be integrated into the breakfast, lunch and dinner options served to the thousands of people stuck on the ship amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Chefs and volunteers for the nonprofit have been preparing operations at the port since last week, Eater reports.
So far, guests have been served dishes like couscous salad with fresh vegetables, chicken and pasta primavera, the nonprofit kitchen revealed on Twitter.
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"Basically what we're doing here is cooking and preparing everything under our strict standards of sanitation, temperature control, cleanliness. Down at the dock, we immediately load everything into our field kitchen, get all the meals hot, palletize them and put them onto the dock, and then the ship,” chef Tim Kilcoyne of World Central Kitchen said in a Feb. 20 update.
“It’s great to be here in Japan to support the folks on the ship and the staff that has been on there consistently working and taking care of all the guests. [We’re] just trying to help out and give back to them as well,” Kilcoyne continued, thanking the “amazing volunteers” that make the effort possible.
The Diamond Princess has been under a two-week quarantine since Feb. 5. The 621 confirmed coronavirus cases among the cruise ship’s 3,711 passengers represent the largest outbreak outside China.
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On Thursday, Japan's health ministry announced that two passengers on the quarantined Diamond Princess had died of the coronavirus.
The Japanese man and woman, both in their 80s, reportedly had existing chronic diseases, officials said.
In this Feb. 11 photo, a reporter walks near the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama, near Tokyo.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Hundreds of Americans on the ship were evacuated by the State Department on Sunday and Monday, including several who tested positive for the virus but showed no symptoms. They are being quarantined for another 14 days at military bases in California and Texas, except for some who were removed to hospitals, including 13 moved to a quarantine unit at the University of Nebraska Health Center.
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The Japanese government started removing passengers from the ship this week and by Wednesday at least 500 were off the ship.
As of Thursday morning, the viral outbreak has infected more than 75,000 people across the globe, while the death toll has risen to at least 2,000.
A spokesperson for Princess Cruises was not immediately available to offer further comment.
Fox News’ Brie Stimson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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