Medical Transport for 769 COVID-19 Patients on a Cruise Ship by Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team.

Hideaki Anan,Tomoki Nakamori,Ichiro Takeuchi,Osamu Akasaka,Hisayoshi Kondo,Yuichi Koido,Yu Ikeda

doi:10.1017/dmp.2020.187

Abstract

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, carrying 3711 passengers and crew members, docked at Yokohama Port in Japan on February 3, 2020. A quarantine was immediately instituted because 1 passenger who had disembarked in Hong Kong was confirmed to have tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). After the quarantine began, all passengers and crew were tested using the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) polymerase chain reaction assay on the ship, 696 of whom tested positive. In total, 769 patients, including 696 with COVID-19, required transport to a hospital. The Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) successfully picked up and safely transported the COVID-19 patients using a novel classification system to prioritize patients. The Japan DMAT transported 203 patients to hospitals in Kanagawa and another 566 patients to hospitals in 15 different prefectures.

Highlights

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, carrying 3711 passengers and crew members, docked at Yokohama Port in Japan on February 3, 2020
This study describes the response to an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on a cruise ship off the coast of Japan
A quarantine was instituted immediately that day because 1 passenger who had disembarked in Hong Kong on January 25 was confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19

Summary

Introduction

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, carrying 3711 passengers and crew members, docked at Yokohama Port in Japan on February 3, 2020. All passengers and crew were tested using the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) polymerase chain reaction assay on the ship, 696 of whom tested positive. On January 20, 2020, the Diamond Princess cruise ship departed on a round trip voyage from Yokohama, Japan, carrying approximately 3700 passengers and crew members. MANAGEMENT PCR Assay of SARS-COV-2 to Determine the Need for Quarantine The Japanese government decided to check all passengers and crew members with symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever, cough, and sore throat, as well as the passengers who had close contact with the individuals who had tested positive for COVID-19.

Discussion

Conclusion