Originally Posted by invisible

So if there is an infection at a ship currently at international waters, what they are going to do - leave it there until virus (and some people) dies out? Is this legal?

Originally Posted by GinFizz

Iwould be very surprised if Japan refuses to accept passengers that require medical treatment - but I can also understand that it was a sensible course of action for them to get an idea of the number of potential infected passengers, and the spread intra-ship, before allowing any disembarkation (and making plans for handling the medical arrangements).

It certainly though must be an unpleasant time for the remaining passengers and my sympathies are with them.

On the issue of spreading of infection on a ship vs. plane, the other aspect to note is that on an airplane, you may be sat within 1m of maybe 9-10 other people - and any food served is presented to you. On a cruise ship (I am told by a friend who works on one) activities are sometimes purposely arranged to rotate passenger groupings, and over the course of several days you may have close (defined by the same "less than 1m" criterion (whether or not that is an appropriate number to take) with many more people. And lunch/breakfast (sometimes dinner) are buffet style ... don't need to go there in terms of the health implications.

I still find the number of transmissions (61 so far) stunning - as I mentioned earlier, the results from the other cruise ship, when they come out, may be informative here.

EDIT: On the first point above I have seen now an article on the BBC News website reporting that passengers in small cabins without windows or natural ventilation are allowed on the deck with some restrictions:

• "Passengers in the small inside cabins have no window, there is no daylight, and no fresh air... but the captain has announced those passengers will be allowed access to open deck for exercise and fresh air."

• "If we are permitted out on open deck, we have to wear a mask when we're outside. We have to keep one metre apart from everyone else and are not allowed to congregate in groups."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51409800