The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that while the quarantine measures onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan potentially conferred a significant public health benefit in slowing transmission, their assessment is that it may not have been sufficient to prevent transmission among individuals on the ship. The CDC believes the rate of new infections on board, especially among those without symptoms, represents an ongoing risk.
To protect the health of the American public, all passengers and crew of the ship have been placed under travel restrictions, preventing them from returning to the United States for at least 14 days after they had left the Diamond Princess, the CDC reported.
Currently, there are more than 100 U.S. citizens still onboard the Diamond Princess or in hospitals in Japan. These citizens have been placed under the restrictions, as have the ship’s other passengers and crew. After disembarkation from the ship, these passengers and crew will be required to wait 14 days without having symptoms or a positive coronavirus test result before they are permitted to board flights to the U.S. If individuals from this cruise arrives in the U.S. before the 14-day period ends, they will still be subject to a mandatory quarantine until they have completed the 14-day period with no symptoms or positive coronavirus test results. Because of their high-risk exposure, there may be additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 among the remaining passengers on board the ship.
The CDC continues to believe that the risk of exposure to COVID-19 to the general public in the U.S. is currently low.
