The increase in the number of people on the Diamond Princess cruise ship diagnosed with COVID-19 continued Wednesday as the health ministry announced that 40 people — 29 passengers, 10 crew members and one quarantine officer — have tested positive.
It is the first time a person involved in the cruise ship case that is neither a passenger nor a crew member has been infected by the virus. Health minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters that the officer was involved in collecting health checkup forms from passengers.
The health ministry said this is also the first time a teenager on the ship has tested positive for the coronavirus and reported that four from the ship — three of them Japanese citizens — are in serious condition. Those four people have pre-existing conditions, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a daily briefing Wednesday afternoon.