Japan Confirms 88 More Cases Aboard ‘Diamond Princess’, Bringing Total To 542 One Day Before Quarantine Set To End

Last night, the western press exposed the Americans for breaking Japan’s quarantine on the ‘Diamond Princess’ by ferrying some 14 infected individuals to the US. But with one day left to go before the Japanese government ends its quarantine and releases thousands of terrified and paranoid passengers into the streets of Tokyo.

On Tuesday, another 88 passengers from the Diamond Princess were diagnosed with the virus, bringing the total to 542.

#BREAKING: Another 88 confirmed new #coronavirus cases from on board the Diamond Princess @abcnews pic.twitter.com/Ixp1XdpY0x

— Jake Sturmer (@JakeSturmer) February 18, 2020

Japan has completed tests for all passengers and crew aboard the ship as of Monday, but the results for the last batch of tests aren’t expected until Wednesday, the day that the quarantine is slated to end. So far, results are back for 2,404 passengers and crew, out of the 3,711 who were  on board the ship when the quarantine began on Feb. 5.

Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said Tuesday that people who have tested negative for the virus would start leaving on Wednesday, but that the process of releasing passengers and crew won’t be finished until Friday, according to the Washington Post.

Elsewhere, Japan confirmed three more cases of the virus. This time, they were confirmed in Wakayama, a prefecture in eastern Japan.

In the latest indication that the 14-day quarantine simply wasn’t enough to kill the virus, a British couple has tested positive for the virus just one day before Japanese authorities are set to release everybody from quarantine, according to the Guardian.

“David and Sally Abel, a British couple onboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner in Japan, have tested positive for coronavirus, a day before passengers who tested negative were due to start leaving the ship after spending two weeks in quarantine.”

Including all of the cases announced overnight, there are now 73,336 confirmed cases of the virus worldwide, compared with 1,874 deaths.

In Beijing, senior officials including President Xi continued to play down the economic blowback from the virus. During remarks on Tuesday, Xi insisted that China could still meet its 2020 economic targets – which called for a doubling of the size of the Chinese economy in 10 years – despite the outbreak.

We cross live to the Chinese Statistics Bureau as President Xi says China can still meet 2020 economic targets despite coronavirus pic.twitter.com/JJeqvbWJCZ

— RANsquawk (@RANsquawk) February 18, 2020

Moving south to Seoul, South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for South Korea to take “emergency steps” to prepare for a more widespread outbreak of COVID-19.

In contrast to Xi, Moon warned the coronavirus could have a “bigger and longer-lasting impact” on his country’s economy than the 2015 MERS outbreak, which prompted South Korea to roll out a supplemental budget while the central bank cut rates, WaPo reports. Speculators are now betting on a rate cut at the Bank of Korea’s meeting next week. Singapore also announced on Tuesday that it had earmarked $2.8 billion for virus relief measures to help stabilize its economy and assist workers.

Over in the Philippines, 25,000 stranded workers can now return to work.

French Health Minister Olivier Veran said Tuesday there was a “credible risk” that the virus could transform into a pandemic, Reuters reports.

“This is both a working assumption and a credible risk,” Veran told France Info radio, when asked about the possibility of the coronavirus spreading globally.

Taking a brief break from the news, our disturbing video of the day comes from Xinjiang, the far-flung province that’s home to millions of Uyghur Muslims.

In this video, shared by the Epoch Times’ Jennifer Zeng, a police officer suddenly collapses while walking. His current status is unknown.

Zhou Shunxin, a police officer in #Xinjiang, suddenly collaspes while walking. Officail report says vaguely that he “passed out” at the frone line of #COVID2019 control, and sent to the hospital, but doesn’t talke about why he collasped or his current status. #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/CYfUi259Pt

— 曾錚 Jennifer Zeng (@jenniferatntd) February 18, 2020

Offering a lesson in contrasts, the Global Times, a mainland tabloid, has continued to tweet lighthearted human interest stories from the heart of the outbreak. Today’s story: A health-care worker getting married in the heart of the outbreak.

Wedding dress, bridal veil and confetti made from a hospital bedsheet with a rubber glove bridal bouquet. Watch this medical staff member’s wedding in the battleground against the novel #coronavirus in #Wuhan. https://t.co/GwDguZKfe0 pic.twitter.com/BZt3KprGAI

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) February 18, 2020

Since we haven’t reported a full breakdown of cases in a while, here’s a complete list and breakdown of infections by country and territory, courtesy of the AP:

Mainland China: 1,868 deaths among 72,436 cases, chiefly in Hubei
Hong Kong: 58 cases, 1 death
Macao: 10
Japan: 607 cases, including 542 from a cruise ship docked in Yokohama, 1 death
Singapore: 77 cases
Thailand: 35
South Korea: 31
Malaysia: 22
Taiwan: 22 cases, 1 death
Vietnam: 16 cases
Germany: 16
United States: 15 cases; separately, 1 US citizen died in China
Australia: 14 cases
France: 12 cases, 1 death
United Kingdom: 9 cases
United Arab Emirates: 9
Canada: 8
Philippines: 3 cases, 1 death
India: 3 cases
Italy: 3
Russia: 2
Spain: 2
Belgium: 1
Nepal: 1
Sri Lanka: 1
Sweden: 1
Cambodia: 1
Finland: 1
Egypt: 1