Coronavirus updates: 136 cases confirmed on board Japan cruise ship

(CNN) There are 66 newly confirmed coronavirus cases aboard the Diamond Princess ship docked in Yokohama, according to an announcement just made by the ship’s captain Stefano Ravera.

That brings the total number of cases on the ship to 136, nearly doubling the previous total of 70 confirmed cases yesterday. CNN News reports.

Ravera cautioned that this does not mean that the quarantine is not working.

“It was not unexpected, the additional cases, involving individuals exposed prior to the start of the quarantine,” he said.

According to CNN, Japanese authorities are still testing hundreds of passengers on board the ship, which has been stuck at the harbor south of the capital Tokyo for almost a week now.

Evidence is increasingly pointing to a full blown outbreak on board the ship, the largest outside of mainland China, where the vast majority of cases have been reported until now.

Philip and Gay Courter are among the hundreds of passengers trapped aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama, a city south of Tokyo.

The couple, originally from Florida, sent these photos to CNN of the view outside of their window, as medical staff conduct thorough tests of passengers and crew, dozens of whom have been confirmed to have the Wuhan coronavirus so far.

“We need to get out of here,” the couple said earlier of their quarantine. “We have a company called Medjet that we’re members of the organization that they serve. And they are ready and willing and have everything that’s in place to come and get us. But the Japanese government is refusing to allow us to leave.”

Updates

• The virus: The Wuhan coronavirus has killed 910 people globally, the vast majority in mainland China, and infected more than 40,000 people.
• Journalist missing: Chen Qiushi, a citizen journalist who had been posting critical reports from inside of Wuhan, the city at the epicenter of the outbreak, went missing Thursday. Police revealed he was forced into quarantine, sparking online pleas for his release.
• WHO heads to China: A team of international experts from the World Health Organization is heading to China to investigate the outbreak.

@ CNN