Photo/Illutration Diamond Princess remains off Yokohama Port in Kanagawa Prefecture on Feb. 4. (Kotaro Ebara)

YOKOHAMA--Health officials here quarantined a cruise ship carrying 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members after authorities in Hong Kong said a passenger who returned earlier to Hong Kong aboard the Diamond Princess had tested positive for the deadly new coronavirus.

The vessel docked off Daikoku Pier in Yokohama Port, Kanagawa Prefecture, late Feb. 3. There was no immediate word on when the ship would be allowed to dock at the pier.

Health ministry officials immediately quarantined the ship the same evening while several passengers were displaying symptoms of fever. One passenger who had suffered a stroke was rushed to a hospital. There was no suggestion the individual had symptoms associated with the coronavirus that originated in China.

The Diamond Princess was also placed under quarantine during a stopover in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, en route to Yokohama. The health ministry took the unusual step of placing the vessel under quarantine a second time, fearing some passengers might be infected with the virus.

Passengers and crew displaying symptoms associated with the virus or who were in contact with the infected passenger will be obliged to undergo a virus check. Those who test positive will be hospitalized. Those who show no symptoms will be allowed to disembark without taking the test.

Of them, however, those who were in contact with infected passengers will be required to remain at home and undergo additional health checks.

According to a Feb. 4 announcement by the Yokohama city government, the passengers will likely be allowed to disembark on and after Feb. 5.

Hong Kong authorities, who alerted Japanese authorities to the situation late Feb. 1, said the infected man is 80 years old. He visited Shenzhen in China's Guangdong Province for a few hours on Jan. 10 and returned to Hong Kong, where he took a flight to Tokyo on Jan. 17. The man boarded the ship at Yokohama on Jan. 20, and arrived back in Hong Kong on Jan. 25 and disembarked.

One day before he boarded the ship, the man developed a cough. He began running a fever Jan. 30 after returning to Hong Kong, prompting him to visit a hospital to be tested for the virus.

According to the ship’s operator, the 18-story passenger ship has a gross tonnage of 116,000 tons and is 290 meters long. Its entertainment facilities include lounges, pools and a casino. Its passenger capacity is about 2,700 with 1,100 crew members on hand to pamper them.

After the Diamond Princess departed from Yokohama Port, it also stopped over in Kagoshima on Jan. 22, Keelung in Taiwan on Jan. 31 and Naha on Feb. 1.

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