Coronavirus: British couple on cruise ship 'test positive' - BBC News

British

couple

stranded in Japan on Diamond Princess

cruise

ship

say they

test

ed

positive

for

coronavirus

Sally and David Abel have been regularly speaking out about their experiences on social media and are among 74 British citizens on board the

ship

according to the Ministry of Affairs Exteriors will be evacuated in the coming days. 88 new infections were reported on board today, bringing the total number to 542, the largest cluster outside China. More than 73 thousand cases have been confirmed worldwide, almost all within China and the death toll there has reached 1,874 and among the dead is the medical director of a hospital in Wuhan, the city where the outbreak began, Correspondent Rupert Winfield Hays now reports from Japan, where the

cruise

ship aboard the Diamond Princess is moored, they are getting very close. until the end for those who were walking on the terrace today there were less than 24 hours until the end of the quarantine but the ambulance is parked next to the ship it tells a different story throughout the day they have been removing more passengers infected with the

coronavirus

88 cases new only today this afternoon the

news

that the British David and Wendy Abel are among them in this video published this morning they spoke of their growing anxiety every time your stomach turns, yes, you just don't know if I will come and say : "Okay, let's go" and they will take us to a medical center hours later.

That's exactly what happened. Their son managed to communicate with them as they prepared to leave. I got an email from a parent saying, “You two, man.” It was

positive

, let's get to the words, I'm going to a hospital, I'll contact you on Facetime right away, I haven't spoken or seen, I haven't spoken to my dad or seen my dad, I only have food for my mom, but I heard my dad in the background. You know, it doesn't sound too good for the Brits who are still on board tonight. There's better

news

starting tomorrow at lunchtime. The quarantine will officially end and the 2,000 or so passengers still on board who

test

ed negative will be able to begin.

When they leave the ship they can leave through this door take a taxi get on a bus What happens then is much less clear: the British government says it will send a plane to pick up the British passengers, but has not yet said when or if they will do so . may face more quarantine when they return to Britain, a Japanese expert told me today that he believes they should because the quarantine on board the Diamond Princess clearly has not worked, almost forgotten by concern for all the passengers on the crew, they have continued to work . Throughout this quarantine and they somehow maintain a sense of humor, their future is now very uncertain.

Rupert Winfield Hays BBC News in Yokohama.