Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan confirms 99 new bringing the total confirmed infections to 454

[at140]

Another 99 people have tested positive for coronavirus onboard the stricken Princess Diamond cruise ship docked in Japan, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 454.
Meanwhile concern is growing over possible infections among passengers from another cruise liner that docked in Cambodia last week. On Sunday a traveler from the MS Westerdam was confirmed to have the virus in Malaysia, days after disembarking along with hundreds of other passengers.
It is not clear how many travelers remain in Cambodia and how many have already travelled on to further destinations. The Cambodian health ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
The cruise operator, Holland America Line, told Reuters that guests who had left Cambodia would be “contacted by their local health department and be provided further information”. It is not clear if passengers will be asked to self-isolate once they return home.
Hundreds of American passengers from the Diamond Princess, where travelers have been mostly confined to their cabins since 3 February, have been flown back to the US. Fourteen passengers tested positive during the evacuation, the US state department said.
Australia said it would follow suit on Wednesday. Both countries have said citizens will face a further two weeks of quarantine after arriving home. Forty American passengers who were diagnosed with the virus have already been transferred to hospitals in Japan.
Some Diamond Princess passengers still on the ship face another two weeks in isolation if they have shared a cabin with someone who tests positive.

That is much faster than standard flu would have spread. 454 infected out of 2670 max capacity passengers?
This virus is going viral!

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/17/coronavirus-japan-braces-for-hundreds-more-cases-as-another-china-city-locked-down

[at140]

2. After 30 cruises already, let me say something..

The modern ships have huge public areas. You are much more packed together in any full restaurant than the dining rooms on ships. Last cruise on Carnival in December 2018 and Norwegian in November 2019, the dining rooms were half empty because my guess is many people prefer the alternate dining in buffet which has the same menu and cruises are getting less and less formal. People just do not dress up for dining room.

Ditto with the other public place on ship, the entertainment theater, which is much more spacious than any movie theater on land. I also find the cavernous gym barely used. But I would definitely avoid the hot tubs and swimming pools on my next cruise.

Here is what I would avoid on land, cruise ship or airplane...any person who has recently had connection to Hubei province where city of Wuhan is located. I understand cruise ships are not allowing passengers to board without checking travel stamps in passports.