After two weeks of quarantine, the five Singaporeans who were on the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan, have been allowed to disembark.
According to a spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the five of them will, however, stay in Japan for another 14 days before returning to Singapore.
“The Singaporeans will be quarantined if they return to Singapore within 14 days from the date of their disembarkation as an additional precautionary measure according to our current public health protocol,” said an MFA spokesman.
They have been advised to monitor their health closely during this period, the spokesperson added.
More than 600 passengers on the Diamond Princess liner have been tested positive with the coronavirus, and were quarantined since 3 February.
Yesterday (20 Feb), the Japanese government confirmed its first death case for COVID-19 after two of the passengers, both in their 80’s, have died.
The deceased passengers were an 87-year-old man who had bronchial asthma and an 84-year-old woman with no pre-existing conditions. They disembarked from the ship on 11 and 12 February before being treated in hospital, NHK reported.