Dozens of Americans on Quarantined Cruise Ship Test Positive for Coronavirus

The general risk for the American public, however, remains low.

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Image via Getty/Behrouz MEHRI/AFP

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44 Americans aboard a cruise ship that's been docked in Tokyo since Feb. 5 are confirmed to have tested positive for coronavirus.

Hundreds of Americans were evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise liner on Sunday night and flown out of Japan on chartered planes headed for U.S. military bases, the Washington Postreported. The 44 confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 will stay at hospitals in Japan for the time being.  However, 14 Americans who were among those evacuated and flown into military bases in California and Texas are confirmed to have also tested positive.

In a separate incident, health officials have announced that passengers aboard another ship—the Westerdam—were exposed to the virus. Mere days after disembarking in Cambodia, an 83-year-old woman tested positive for coronavirus, despite previous assessments that the ship was unaffected and could thus allow passengers to depart for their destinations.

According to the latest updates shared over the weekend from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the immediate health risk from COVID-19 for the general American public remains low. Still, the CDC recommends several steps that those in the U.S. can take to ensure that risk remains as low as possible. Among the recommendations are that everyone gets a flu vaccine and takes the usual "everyday preventive actions" to stop the spread of germs.

The latest word on the total number of coronavirus cases was that this weekend closed out with more than 71,000 cases worldwide, with the majority reported in mainland China. The worldwide death toll is at an estimated 1,770.

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