Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include new information.
The first two Ukrainian nationals to be infected by the novel coronavirus have been recorded onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which is currently in quarantine in Yokohama, Japan, Ukrainian media reported on Feb. 9.
The two individuals — a 25-year-old man and 37-year-old woman — were working as crew members in the ship’s kitchen and have already been sent to a Japanese hospital where they are receiving treatment, the Ministry of Health told Ukrinform on Feb. 9. So far, both patients have shown no serious symptoms, and the Japanese Ministry of Health reported that the first patient is “feeling normal.” Information is currently unavailable on the condition of the second patient.
On Feb. 10, Ukrainian media reported that one Ukrainian had contracted the coronavirus. Later, the Public Health Center of Ukraine’s Ministry of Health announced the second infection in a statement on its website.
Twenty-five Ukrainians, all of whom are crewmembers, are still on board the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined off the coast of Japan after dozens of people on board tested positive for the virus on Feb. 5. So far, 135 people aboard the boat have contracted the virus according to Japanese health authorities.
Ukraine’s State Border Service has a full list of the Ukrainians on the ship, Ukrainian lawmaker Mikhail Radutsky wrote on Facebook on Feb. 10.
Radutsky added that another medical observation would be conducted on their eventual return to Ukraine.
The outbreak on the ship is the largest outside China. Roughly 3,700 people, including about 2,600 passengers and more than 1,000 crew members, are quarantined, with passengers confined to their cabins.
The decision to quarantine all passengers amid the outbreak has faced criticism after the number of cases on the ship mushroomed from 70 on Feb. 9th to 130 on Feb. 10th. Passengers will remain quarantined aboard the ship until the last case is diagnosed. There is no indication when that will occur as new cases are emerging daily.
Japanese government doctors are taking measures to diagnose everyone on board the ship, but authorities are struggling to handle the scale of the outbreak, which requires testing every passenger aboard the ship.
The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency after the coronavirus outbreak that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
At least 908 people have died in mainland China and two deaths have been reported in Hong Kong and in the Philippines.
More than 40,600 people have been infected worldwide, the vast majority of them in China.
