By NAOKI OGAWA/ Staff Writer
April 24, 2020 at 18:39 JST
Crew members of the Costa Atlantica cruise ship wait on April 24 to be tested for the coronavirus at the Koyagi factory in Nagasaki. (Eiji Hori)
NAGASAKI--Another 43 crew members of the Costa Atlantica cruise ship tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Nagasaki prefectural officials on April 24.
The latest figure brings the total number of crew members infected to 91. One is listed in serious condition.
Except for one Japanese crew member, the remaining 622 are foreign nationals. There are no passengers currently on the Costa Atlantica.
Doctors onboard the ship discovered the new cases after testing 208 crew members for the virus the previous day.
Aside from the 43 who tested positive, one person will have to take the test again. Everyone else tested negative.
The Nagasaki prefectural government plans to complete testing of the remaining 300 or so crew members on April 24.
The testing is being conducted by doctors dispatched by the Self-Defense Forces, Nagasaki University and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, following a request by the prefectural government.
The ship is operated by the Italian cruise line Costa Crociere SpA. It was scheduled for repairs in China, but it docked in Japan instead due to the coronavirus outbreak.
It was repaired between Feb. 20 and March 25 at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.'s Nagasaki shipyard at its Koyagi factory. The ship operated at sea on a trial basis before returning and has been docked at the factory since.
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