COVID Confirmed In North Macedonia Passenger On Diamond Princess

[niman]

Of the three citizens of North Macedonia on the ship, two are in good health and remain on board, North Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry said last Thursday, confirming that one had tested positive for the virus and was taken to a Japanese hospital. His condition is being checked by North Macedonia’s embassy in Tokyo.

https://balkaninsight.com/2020/02/17/coronavirus-traps-balkan-citizens-on-cruise-ship-in-japan/

[niman]

Coronavirus Traps Balkan Citizens on Cruise Ship in Japan

 

Anja Vladisavljevic, Danijel Kovacevic and Sinisa Jakov Marusic

Banja Luka, Skopje, Zagreb

BIRN

February 17, 2020

Balkan citizens stranded on the cruise ship containing the largest cluster of coronavirus cases outside China will not be evacuated before the isolation period ends this week.

A car leaves the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal where the Diamond Princess cruise ship is docked in Yokohama, Japan, 16 February 2020. EPA-EFE/FRANCK ROBICHON.

While the US, Canada and some other countries have started evacuating their citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, docked at Yokohama in Japan, and quarantined amid the coronavirus COVID-19 epidemic, citizens from the Balkan region will remain stuck on board until the isolation period ends this week.

Some 17 Romanian citizens, 14 Serbian citizens, six Croatians, two Macedonians, one Bosnian and one citizen from Montenegro are on the ship that contains the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases outside China.

The ship has been held in quarantine since February 3 and the quarantine is not due to end until Wednesday, February 19.

Of the three citizens of North Macedonia on the ship, two are in good health and remain on board, North Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry said last Thursday, confirming that one had tested positive for the virus and was taken to a Japanese hospital. His condition is being checked by North Macedonia’s embassy in Tokyo.

Regarding evacuation plans, North Macedonia stated only that it is in daily contact with the two remaining citizens on board and that it will inform the public about any possible evacuation plan.

As reported on Thursday, one Romanian citizen tested positive for coronavirus and was also transferred to a Japanese hospital. The Romanian Foreign Ministry said its embassy in Japan was in contact with the other 15 Romanians crew members and two passengers.

Ivica Dacic, Serbia’s Foreign Minister, said on Friday that four Serbian nationals were in isolation because of contact with an infected person, but their test results were not known yet. Serbia has not announced plans to evacuate its citizens.

The Bosnian Foreign Ministry said that the one Bosnian citizen on board ship was a member of the crew and was not infected with the virus. “Despite the unenviable situation, he is in good psycho-physical condition … We are in daily contact and he is lacking for nothing,” the Bosnian ambassador to Japan, Sinisa Berjan, said on Thursday. According to him, the crew are most exposed to the virus because they are not quarantined like the passengers and must continue to perform their work duties.

“Fortunately, our citizen does not work in jobs that are directly related to servicing the needs of passengers and is, therefore, less exposed to contacts with other people,” Berjan said.

US citizens leaving the ‘Diamond Princess’ cruise ship, February 17, 2020. EPA-EFE/FRANCK ROBICHON.

According to the Croatian Foreign Ministry, the five Croatian passengers and one cruise crew member on board are all well.

“Their planned stay is to 19 February at the earliest, depending on the dynamics of testing and other health procedures,” the ministry told BIRN, adding that the embassy in Japan was in constant contact with the authorities and that “so far, it is not planned for Croatian citizens to leave isolation earlier”.

The Montenegrin Foreign Ministry on February 5 said that the one Montenegrin citizen on the ship was not known to be among the infected.

Some 3,700 people were on board the ship, and according to the latest report by Japanese Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry, the number of people infected has reached 355.

On Monday, the more than 300 US citizens were removed from the ship. Canada will also evacuate its 250 citizens.

China is under pressure to contain the spread of the virus that has reportedly killed 1,500 people so far. On Saturday, the first death was confirmed in Europe. Media reports said a Chinese tourist died in France after contracting the coronavirus.