COVID-19 in Japan and Japanese waters

[trevella]

14 of the Americans on the charter planes tested positive.

Tested positive before departure, but were reportedly isolated within the plane(s).

From CNN:

A total of 14 passengers were confirmed to have the novel coronavirus as they were evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan and left the country on a flight chartered by the US government, according to a joint statement by the US Departments of State, and Health and Human Services.

The US government arranged the jet to evacuate American passengers stuck on the ship, and more than 300 people boarded the plane, which left Japan yesterday. Americans who had already tested positive for coronavirus were not be allowed to board the evacuation charters.

Here's what the statement said:

During the evacuation process, after passengers had disembarked the ship and initiated transport to the airport, US officials received notice that 14 passengers, who had been tested 2-3 days earlier, had tested positive for COVID-19. These individuals were moved in the most expeditious and safe manner to a specialized containment area on the evacuation aircraft to isolate them in accordance with standard protocols.
After consultation with HHS officials, including experts from the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the State Department made the decision to allow the 14 individuals, who were in isolation, separated from other passengers, and continued to be asymptomatic, to remain on the aircraft to complete the evacuation process.
During the flights, these individuals will continue to be isolated from the other passengers. These flights departed Japan at approximately 4:30 PM Eastern time on February 16 and will arrive in the United States later this morning.
All passengers are being closely monitored by medical professionals throughout the flight, and any who become symptomatic will be moved to the specialized containment area, where they will be treated.

 

[Pushka]

14 of the Americans on the charter planes tested positive.

And they were allowed to fly on the plane in that knowledge.

Post automatically merged: Feb 17, 2020

Interestingly Matthew Smith is saying that the Japanese govt have said there will be no further quarantine in Japan after they are allowed off the ship.

Yes but he’s going on info sent a few days ago which states “at this time”.

 

[trevella]

99 more Diamond Princess infections, taking the total to 454.

 

[Tropic]

If one can be contagious while asymptomatic makes me wonder how effective the current public testing and quarantine process is if it is only capturing those who are infected or are known, or suspected through contact tracing, to have come into contact with an infected person. I presume the only way to know absolutely who is a carrier is to test every member of the population - logistically challenging for captive populations e.g. cruise ship with known cases, but essentially impossible in the general population. When you only test on presentation of symptoms, you have no way of detecting carriers who are asymptomatic or how many of these carriers there are in the general population and travelling around in aircraft. While travel restrictions and quarantine requirements (albeit in some cases self enforced) will mean some of these asymptomatic carriers are subsequently detected when they develop symptoms, Im not sure all do or apparently some can have very mild symptoms.

 

[trevella]

A new hospital in Aichi that is scheduled to open on April 1 will take up to 200 positive-testing but asymptomatic people from the Diamond Princess.

 

[trevella]

Seven of the 65 returnees on this morning's charter flight from Wuhan have been hospitalised, with test results to follow.

 

[Tropic]

So if so many are testing positive but their symptoms are non existent or no more than a heavy cold, or potentially flu, what exactly is happening here?

Yes it is strange. Any of those pax travelling through various Asian airports and cruise ships prior to travel restrictions being imposed could well have been infected but were asymptomatic so weren't detected then and may have not developed symptoms when returned to their home....whereever in the world that might be. The other issue exercising my mind 3 days out from my next trip is how long does the virus survive outside the host e.g. you can only wipe down so much of the surfaces in the aircraft and short of wearing gloves hard to keep from recontaminating from subsequent contact with various surfaces in the airport, luggage, uber, hotel etc.

 

[Pushka]

And UK and Canada have not blocked China yet their infection rates aren’t even being reported.
A virus usually doesnt survive long on surfaces.

 

[trevella]

Today's 99 breaks down into 85 passengers and 14 crew.

19 of the 454 are now in serious condition.

 

[trevella]

The Aichi cluster is a husband and wife who got back from Hawaii on February 7 or thereabouts, and a friend of the wife.

That one has now extended as far as a friend of the friend of the wife.

 

[trevella]

To the registered runners of the Tokyo Marathon 2020

「東京がひとつになる日。」東京マラソン2025の大会公式ウェブサイトです。コースマップ、エントリー情報などご確認いただけます。

www.marathon.tokyo

We will allow all registered runners to defer their entry to the Tokyo Marathon 2021.
Runners who have deferred their entry to the Tokyo Marathon 2021 are required to pay the entry fees for the 2021 event.
Abiding to the Entry Regulation, the entry fee and the donations received for the Tokyo Marathon 2020 will not be refunded.

[That's a bit over AUD8 million not being refunded due to the organisers' insurance coverage]

 

[Anna]

19 of the 454 are now in serious condition.

Is any breakdown available of the age, nationality and prior health status of the 19 serious cases?

 

[Anna]

Yes it is strange. Any of those pax travelling through various Asian airports and cruise ships prior to travel restrictions being imposed could well have been infected but were asymptomatic so weren't detected then and may have not developed symptoms when returned to their home....whereever in the world that might be. The other issue exercising my mind 3 days out from my next trip is how long does the virus survive outside the host e.g. you can only wipe down so much of the surfaces in the aircraft and short of wearing gloves hard to keep from recontaminating from subsequent contact with various surfaces in the airport, luggage, uber, hotel etc.

If I was travelling at the moment I think I would be taking my box of disposable plastic gloves that I usually use when chopping chillies. Not expensive at the supermarket or pharmac_. And a very high alcohol hand sanitiser, because only high alcohol has a chance of killing viruses as opposed to bacteria.

 

[Pushka]

To the registered runners of the Tokyo Marathon 2020

「東京がひとつになる日。」東京マラソン2025の大会公式ウェブサイトです。コースマップ、エントリー情報などご確認いただけます。

www.marathon.tokyo

We will allow all registered runners to defer their entry to the Tokyo Marathon 2021.
Runners who have deferred their entry to the Tokyo Marathon 2021 are required to pay the entry fees for the 2021 event.
Abiding to the Entry Regulation, the entry fee and the donations received for the Tokyo Marathon 2020 will not be refunded.

[That's a bit over AUD8 million not being refunded due to the organisers' insurance coverage]

I am waiting for the Olympics to hit then.

 

[moa999]

Alan Tudge (Federal Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure) on 7News saying 15 Australians on-board have elected not to take tonight's flight.

Not clear if the Australian Govt will force a 14-day exclusion on them like the US reportedly has for those of its citizens who elected not to go

 

[Pushka]

Alan Tudge (Federal Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure) on 7News saying 15 Australians on-board have elected not to take tonight's flight.

Not clear if the Australian Govt will force a 14-day exclusion on them like the US reportedly has for those of its citizens who elected not to go

They are enforcing it.

 

[disruptivedolphin]

So, to summarise the state of play prior to today's data releases:

Japan currently has:

218 infections of cruise ship passengers and crew
1 infection of a quarantine officer
12 infections of people who came home on one of the four charter flights
20 "others"

As of Wednesday's close, so basically after six more days worth of releases, the figures are now

621 Diamond Princess passengers and crew
3 government workers
14 charter
69 'others'

25 in Tokyo, 12 in Wakayama, 7 in Aichi.

None whatsoever for the entire islands of Shikoku and Kyushu, which seems about as realistic as Indonesia's figures.

 

[disruptivedolphin]

Olympics: Year before Games, Tokyo better prepared than any city before - IOC

A year before hosting the 2020 Olympics, Tokyo is better prepared than any other city in the past to host the Games, Olympic chief Thomas Bach said on Wednesday.

www.reuters.com

Tokyo also had to ramp up its heat countermeasures, such as shaded areas, air-conditioned waiting areas and ice baths for athletes, as well as water sprays.

Hard to imagine them using water sprays now.

 

[disruptivedolphin]

Given that one of the Australians tested positive after spending two weeks in an inside room...

Hundreds Released From Diamond Princess Cruise Ship in Japan (Published 2020)

Coronavirus quarantine over, passengers ventured off into the port city of Yokohama and beyond amid deep concerns among health experts and the announcement of two deaths.

www.nytimes.com

One Japanese passenger chose to evacuate to South Korea with his wife, who is a South Korean citizen, because the government there is mandating a 14-day quarantine and he is concerned that he may have been infected on the ship.

The man, Yasuhito Hirasawa, a former teachers union official, said he had been tested on Saturday.

“We’re served by the kind crew members who might be possible virus carriers all the time,” Mr. Hirasawa wrote to The New York Times. “Even professional quarantine officials only wear masks and vinyl gloves, and we cannot deny the possibility of infection from the crew members, who are not experts.”

 

[moa999]

Note that this was the first time they had been tested (Japan had been struggling with testing capability). Seemingly Japan remains confident that the quarantine has worked and people had been infected beforehand.

The Australian positive is from a family of 5 from Melbourne. One of the kids tested positive. Mother has been tweeting and Instagramming @qtiepie
Having been living in the same cabin, highly likely the other kids will also get it I'd think, although seemingly the authorities were happy for them to get on the Australian flight (they didn't and all 5 will remain in Japan).

Debarking of other pax continues. Matthew Smith (the American who refused the flight) @mjswhitebread got papers last night that he will be off at 1.30pm today, and plans to spend 14-days touring Tokyo before heading back to the US (he's on a US no-fly list for the next 14 days)