Grandfather is latest Australian to be diagnosed with coronavirus after catching it on cruise ship

Another Australian is diagnosed with the deadly coronavirus after catching it on cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan

An 80-year-old Perth man has contracted coronavirus on a cruise ship off Japan
He will be moved from Diamond Princess cruise ship at Yokohama to hospital
There are 219 cases of the virus on board the vessel, including 15 Australians

By Zoe Zaczek For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 01:28 GMT, 15 February 2020 | Updated: 02:12 GMT, 15 February 2020

A grandfather has been confirmed as the latest Australian to be diagnosed with the deadly coronavirus after catching it on a cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan.

The 80-year-old, from Perth, will be moved from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama to receive treatment in a hospital on the mainland.

There are 219 cases of the virus on board the vessel, with 15 Australians confirmed to have contracted the illness.

The Diamond Princess cruise ship has docked at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan as infected travellers are quarantined

According to reports on February 14, 218 passengers on the vessel have tested positive for the coronavirus, including an elderly man from Perth

There are more than 200 Australians on the ship of more than 3,500 passengers.

Health officials approved the disembarkation of 11 elderly passengers who returned negative results when tested for coronavirus.

It’s hoped other older passengers will be approved to leave the vessel before the 14-day quarantine period concludes on February 19 amid concerns about ailing health.

Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said on Thursday passengers aged 80 or over who pass the virus test will be allowed to leave the ship.

The measure was introduced amid concerns about the health of passengers with chronic health issues or in cabins without windows that can open.

‘We are doing our utmost for the health of crew members and passengers who remain on the ship,’ Mr Kato told a news conference.

The 80-year-old, from Perth, will be moved from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama to receive treatment in a hospital on the mainland

Perth woman Marcelly, who didn’t give her surname, told ABC radio a doctor told her father Val on Friday morning he had tested positive to the virus and would be taken to hospital.

Her mother Iris returned a negative result and remains on the ship.

They had both boarded in Perth in ‘fantastic health’.

‘He’s actually feeling really good – that’s the strangeness about this situation,’ she said.

‘A lot of the crew have also fallen ill that are preparing the food so there are people saying it may be coming from the food, but again there’s nothing conclusive.

‘My mum and dad both had a bit of mild gastro.’

She said her biggest worry was staying in contact with her father as he does not have a mobile phone.

Confirmation is being sought from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

An ambulance drives towards the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama

AUSTRALIANS WITH THE CORONAVIRUS

NEW SOUTH WALES: 4

January 25

Three men aged 43, 53, and 35 who had recently travelled to China are confirmed to have contracted the disease.
Two flew in from Wuhan while the other arrived in Sydney from Shenzhen, south China.
They are being treated in isolation at Westmead Hospital and are in stable condition.

January 27

A 21-year-old woman is identified as the fourth person to test positive for the illness in NSW.
The woman, a student at UNSW, flew into Sydney International Airport on flight MU749 on January 23 and presented to the emergency department 24 hours later after developing flu-like symptoms.
She is being treated in isolation at Westmead Hospital.

VICTORIA: 4

January 25

A Chinese national aged in his 50s becomes the first confirmed case of the coronavirus in Australia.
The man flew to Melbourne on China Southern flight CZ321 from Wuhan via Guangzhou on January 19.
He is now in quarantined isolation at Monash Hospital in Clayton in Melbourne’s east.

January 29

A Victorian man in his 60s is diagnosed with the coronavirus.
He became unwell on January 23 – two days after returning from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.
The man was confirmed as positive on January 29 and was subsequently seen by doctors at the Monash Medical Centre. He was assessed as being well enough to stay at home.

January 30

A woman in her 40s is found to have coronavirus.
She was visiting from China and mostly spent time with her family.
She is being treated at Royal Melbourne Hospital.

February 1

A woman in her 20s in Melbourne is found to have the virus

QUEENSLAND: 5

January 29

Queensland confirms its first case after a 44-year-old Chinese national wass diagnosed with the virus.
He is being treated at Gold Coast University Hospital.

January 30

A 42-year-old Chinese woman who was travelling in the same Wuhan tour group as the 44-year-old man tests positive. She is in Gold Coast University Hospital in stable condition.

February 4

An eight-year-old boy has been diagnosed coronavirus. He is also from the tour group where the other Queensland cases came from

February 5

The case was found in a 37-year-old man, who was a member of a group of nine Chinese tourists in quarantine on the Gold Coast

February 6

A 37-year-old woman has been diagnosed with coronavirus from the same travel group that flew to Queensland from Melbourne on January 27

SOUTH AUSTRALIA: 2

February 1

A Chinese couple in their 60s who arrived in Adelaide from Wuhan to visit relatives are confirmed to have coronavirus.

CHINA: 2

January 30

Two Australians have been confirmed as having the virus in Wuhan itself. Australia has raised the travel alert level to ‘do not travel’ for the city of Wuhan – the epicentre of the outbreak – and for the entire Hubei province.
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy says unless people have contact with someone who is unwell and has come from that part of China, there is no need for current concern.

JAPAN: 15

As of February 15, 15 Australians are among 219 confirmed cases of the coronavirus contracted on board Diamond Princess cruise ship at Yokohama.

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