BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Thousands of passengers and crew on two cruise ships in Asian waters were placed in quarantine on Wednesday, as the death toll from an outbreak of a fast-spreading coronavirus rose to nearly 500.
China’s National Health Commission said another 65 people had died as of Tuesday, a new daily record taking the toll on the mainland to 490, most in and around the locked-down central city of Wuhan, where the virus emerged late last year.
There have been two deaths outside mainland China, both following visits to Wuhan. A man in the Philippines died last week, and a 39-year-old man with underlying illness died in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
A Thai taxi-driver, who recovered from the infection, told a news conference in Bangkok of his shock upon learning he had caught it.
“I cried because I have to take care of my family,” said the man, who wore a mask to hide his identity.
“But I don’t have a bad feeling against tourists or the Chinese,” he said, adding he had a message of support for Wuhan.
“Even I can beat it, so can you.”
Across mainland China, there were 3,887 new confirmed infections, for a total of 24,324.
The virus had disrupted air travel with more than two dozen airlines suspending or restricting flights to China and several countries, including the United States, banning the entry of anyone who has been in China over the previous two weeks.
Taiwan banned the entry of people who live on the mainland from Thursday.
The disruption spread to cruise ships this week with about 3,700 people facing at least two weeks locked away on a liner anchored off Japan after health officials confirmed that 10 people aboard had tested positive for the virus.
In Hong Kong, more than 1,800 passengers and crew were confined to their cruise ship docked in the city during tests for the virus, after three people on board had earlier tested positive.
Passengers