The quarantine on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship was ineffective and Japan is about to release hundreds of passengers who pose an “ongoing risk” of spreading coronavirus infection, the US Centers for Disease Control has warned.
Quarantining the 3,700 passengers on board the cruise ship would have slowed new infections, the CDC said in a statement, but “may not have been sufficient to prevent transmission among individuals on the ship”.
The CDC warning comes as Japan prepares to start releasing passengers from the boat, which is moored in Yokohama, with about 500 expected to disembark on Wednesday, even though the US and Hong Kong both say they pose a risk of infection.