Day 4: The Germ Boats

Remember when norovirus was the biggest risk of taking a cruise? Well, now it's novel coronavirus. The South China Morning Post reports that 4000 passengers on a five-day cruise from Guangzhou to Vietnam to Hong Kong may have been exposed. Three cases are already known (though only one is officially confirmed) and two more are suspected.

“There was a clear risk of cross-contagion on board the cruise ship,” said the doctor, who declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media. But the doctor said she decided to disclose the information out of concern that thousands of passengers from the same cruise were at large, even though it has not been confirmed that there was an outbreak on board.

P.S. The suspected NYC case is still not confirmed. You can keep an eye out for it at the live Johns Hopkins CSSE site (or the mobile version).

P.P.S. Another cruise ship story broke later in the day: Princess Cruises quarantines 3,700 on the Diamond Princess out of Yokohama, Japan after ten passengers tested positive.

The company confirmed to CNBC that one of the passengers who tested positive for the coronavirus is from the United States. The others are two passengers from Australia, three from Japan and three from Hong Kong and one Filipino crew member.

The company said it will continue to provide guests with complimentary internet and phone service. The ship will go out to sea to “perform normal marine operations,” the company said, such as “the production of fresh water and ballast operations before proceeding alongside in Yokohama where food, provisions, and other supplies will be brought onboard.”