A 21-year-old Melbourne woman aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan has been diagnosed with coronavirus, her grandfather says.
The passenger, from Sydenham in the city's outer northwest, would be the 12th Australian to be diagnosed on the ship, which is currently docked in the port of Yokohama.
Her grandfather, Peter, who did not give his last name, said she was taken off the ship with her parents and younger brother and transported to a hospital about two hours from the port.
"My granddaughter Bianca who is 21 years old tested positive and now she's in isolation in the hospital and my three other family members are all in isolation wards over there," he told 3AW radio on Wednesday.
Authorities are yet to confirm the case, while Princess Cruises said 11 Australians aboard were affected.
"We are following guidance from the Japan Ministry of Health on plans for disembarkation protocols to provide medical care for these new cases," it said.
"Since it is early in the quarantine period of 14 days, it was not unexpected that additional cases would be reported involving individuals who were exposed prior to the start of the quarantine."
40 more diagnosed
An additional 40 people, including a quarantine official, onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the Japan coast tested positive for the new coronavirus, Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said on Wednesday, bringing the total to 174.
"Out of 53 new test results, 39 people were found positive," he told reporters, adding that a quarantine official had also been infected with the virus.
"At this point, we have confirmed that four people, among those who are hospitalised, are in a serious condition, either on a ventilator or in an intensive care unit," he said.
The number of fatalities from China's new coronavirus epidemic jumped to 1,110 nationwide on Wednesday after hard-hit Hubei province reported 94 new deaths.
In its daily update, Hubei's health commission also confirmed another 1,638 new cases in the central province, where the outbreak emerged in December.
There are now more than 44,200 confirmed cases across China, based on previously released figures from the government.
Testing expanded
The Diamond Princess has been in quarantine since arriving off the Japanese coast early last week after the virus was detected in a former passenger who got off the ship last month in Hong Kong.
When the boat arrived off Japan, authorities initially tested nearly 300 people of the 3,711 aboard for the virus, gradually evacuating dozens who were infected to local medical facilities.
In recent days, testing has expanded to those with new symptoms or who had close contact with other infected passengers or crew.
Those who remain on the ship have been asked to stay inside their cabins and allowed only briefly onto open decks.
They have been asked to wear masks and keep a distance from each other when outside, and given thermometers to regularly monitor their temperatures.
The ship is expected to stay in quarantine until February 19 - two weeks after the isolation period began.
Quarantined passengers wearing protective face masks stand on a balcony of the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Source: Getty
