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Hundreds of Australians are trapped on a 'floating prison' cruise ship with rations being delivered to their rooms after 20 travellers tested positive for coronavirus.

The Diamond Princess ship carrying 2,655 people is anchored off Yokohama, Japan where 20 infected patients, including two Australians, have been rushed to hospital for treatment.

The other passengers have been told to stay in their cabins and are not allowed off the ship for up to two weeks amid fears of mass contagion.

Among them are 233 Australians, including Olivia Capodicasa, from Melbourne, who was on the final night of her cruise with her grandmother when the ship was locked down.

She described the conditions as being like 'hell' and said she had been watching movies to pass the time.

'It has been a hell of a 24 hours stuck in here', she told Sunrise on Thursday morning. 

'I think it is really starting to hit me now that this is the reality and I'm not going home anytime soon'.

A look inside the ship where 10 people have been quarantined. Screening began on Tuesday for some 2,655 passengers and crew

Cruise ship Diamond Princess (pictured on Wednesday) is anchored off the shore of Yokohama, south of Tokyo, after 20 tested positive for coronavirus

Miss Capodicasa said the passengers' only contact with officials has been through the captain who has made announcements to all the rooms. She said they have been asked to fill out forms if they need medication.  

Also on board are Cairns couple Paul and Jacqui Fidrmuc who said they were holding up OK.

The pair told the Nine Network the ship was eerily quiet on Thursday. 'We are just kind of sitting tight really,' Mrs Fidrmuc said.

'It's a little bit daunting. But look, we can't do anything... We are good strong healthy people and we've got good immune systems and fingers crossed that ... we can fight it off.' 

Olivia Capodicasa (pictured) was on the final night of her cruise with her grandmother when the ship was locked down

Cairns couple Paul and Jacqui Fidrmuc (pictured) said they were holding up OK as they were quarantined in their rooms

Brisbane couple Karen and John Welch (pictured) said they had not heard anything about when they can leave

Medical workers in protective suits lead a passenger tested positive for a new coronavirus from the cruise ship Diamond Princess at Yokohama Port on Wednesday

Brisbane couple Karen and John Welch said they had not heard anything about when they can leave. 

'We have not heard a thing. I wish they would get on to the job. They need to get us off this ship,' Mr Welch told the Today show on Friday morning.

He said they were keeping in touch with other Aussies on the ship by phone because they are not allowed out of their rooms.

'I have spoken to quite a few Australians on the phone here. We keep in contact. No-one's heard anything,' he said. 

Ten of the infected people - two Australians, one American, three guests from Hong Kong, two from Japan and one Filipino crew member - were taken ashore by the Japanese coast guard and sent to nearby hospitals on Wednesday.

A further ten patients tested positive on Thursday. 

More than 200 others were anxiously awaiting their test results after they were selected for extra screening and medics in hazmat suits went deck-to-deck to test for the killer virus.  

Passengers were given rations including yoghurt, fruit and bread as well as juice and hot drinks for breakfast this morning

Other passengers have shared pictures of their food, including bread rolls with cheese and meat and plates of chicken with rice, as staff in face masks delivered supplies on board the ship 

One cabin aboard the Diamond Princess had a note posted on the door with a request for English Breakfast teabags 

Menus (above) have been handed out to passengers who are not allowed to leave their rooms for up to 14 days. They were told to leave the menu in their mailbox for a masked worker to collect it and later deliver the food

This image shows a medical form given to passengers on the cruise ship who need more medicines while in quarantine

On Wednesday the ship left Yokohama harbour and returned to the open sea to collect seawater - which can be converted for use in showers and drinking water.       

British passenger David Abel described how luxury dinners had been replaced with rationed food delivered by staff in face masks.  

He said: 'It's just an extended two-week cruise, but it's not going to be a luxury cruise, it's going to be like a floating prison.' 

Other passengers have shared pictures of their food including bread rolls with cheese and meat, plates of chicken with rice, and a chocolate dessert - while one cabin had a sign on its door with a request for English Breakfast teabags.   

It's believed the virus was brought onboard by an infected 80-year-old Hong Kong man, who joined part of the 14-day cruise, and tested positive for the virus after disembarking on January 25.

The virus emerged in the city of Wuhan in China in December and has so far killed 492 people.  

Japan's health minister Katsunobu Kato said officials would continue to monitor the remaining passengers and crew for the potential development of symptoms, suggesting that more test samples could be taken. 

Until the results are in 'everyone on board... will stay there', he said. 

Health workers in protective gear wait for Diamond Princess cruise ship passengers to be transferred to the mainland 

Health Minister Kato said that officials would continue to monitor the remaining passengers and crew for the potential development of symptoms, suggesting that more test samples could be taken. 

None of the 10 infected people, three of whom are Japanese nationals, had severe symptoms, public broadcaster NHK reported.  

Another passenger, a Japanese man in his 70s, told public broadcaster NHK that the drastic new quarantine measures had been imposed today after ten people tested positive. 

'Until yesterday, we were able to spend time in common spaces and do things like play ping-pong. But from this morning, we have not been allowed to go out of our rooms,' said the man.

'I tried to go to a restaurant this morning for breakfast but I was told: Please eat in your room. So I have been waiting for room service. But it hasn't arrived yet.'   

Pictures on board the Diamond Princess showed masked health workers in blue plastic gowns walking down as well as views of deserted lounges and a barren deck. 

Cruise operator Princess Cruises said the next two trips which were due to depart Yokohama on February 4 and February 12 had been cancelled.  

A spokesman said food and other supplies would be brought on board from other ships when the vessel returns to Yokohama. 

'The ship plans to go out to sea to perform normal marine operations including, but not limited to, the production of fresh water and ballast operations before proceeding alongside in Yokohama where food, provisions, and other supplies will be brought onboard,' the spokesman said. 

'Guests will continue to be provided complimentary internet and telephone to use in order to stay in contact with their family and loved ones, and the ship's crew is working to keep all guests comfortable.

'Princess Cruises will continue to fully cooperate with and follow the instructions of global medical authorities and the Japanese government.'    

An ambulance departs the Japan Coast Guard base in Yokohama after bringing virus patients from the Diamond Princess 

Ambulance workers in protective gears drive an ambulance which is believed to carry a person who was transferred from Cruise ship

The new cases bring the total number of confirmed cases to 33 in Japan. The epidemic, which originated in China's Hubei province, has killed hundreds of people and infected more than 10,000 so far. 

Speaking yesterday, passenger Mr Abel claimed that some of his fellow passengers 'don't give a damn about personal health' and had increased the risk of infection with poor hygiene. 

In one case, an American tourist had blown his nose on a napkin and left it on a dinner table where waiters carrying food were likely to touch it, he said. 

It is not yet known exactly how the virus spreads. 

'Nobody is able to book onward flights as we have no idea when the quarantine will clear,' said Mr Abel, who is travelling with his wife ahead of their 50th wedding anniversary and described himself as a 'captive' on the ship. 

'The whole ship is in quarantine, we are in the middle of the bay, anchored, so nobody can get on or off this ship.'  

The sun rises over the Diamond Princess on Wednesday anchored off the Yokohama Port, south of Tokyo, after a Hong Kong passenger who sailed on the vessel last month tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus

Cruise ship Diamond Princess is seen anchored off the Yokohama Port on Tuesday, after a Hong Kong passenger who sailed on the vessel last month tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus

Describing medical tests on board, Mr Abel said: 'We've had the medical guys come into our stateroom and it's taken all night, from midnight to 10am, for them to do four of the decks and there are 14 in total. 

'They came in, took our temperature, asked three questions - have we got a cough, have we got a fever, do we take medication to lower temperature.'  

Despite the large number of people on the ship, photos from inside show usually-bustling communal areas are all but deserted as those on board are confined to their cabin rooms to prevent any possible spread of the virus. 

The only people in sight are personnel going from room-to-room to test the passengers for the virus, or to clean the ship's public areas. 

One image shows a deserted cinema room on the huge liner, called the Diamond Princess, with no one in sight. Another shows the ship's huge casino standing empty.  

Corridors and a huge atrium are left empty save for medical officials wandering around in protective masks. 

The usually-lively reception area on board the Diamond Princess is now empty and unmanned.  

An empty casino on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that has been quarantined in Japan

The once-lively reception area on board the Diamond Princess stands empty and unmanned

Medical personnel are pictured going room-by-room as they check up on the passengers. According to a statement from Japan's health ministry, the guests' temperatures and overall conditions are being monitored

One image shows a deserted cinema room on the huge liner, called the Diamond Princess, with no one in sight. Screening began on Tuesday for some 3,700 passengers and crew aboard the cruise liner after a Hong Kong passenger who sailed on the vessel last month tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus

Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the ship had already been quarantined on Saturday at the port of Naha, but the 80-year-old man's diagnosis forced further checks.  

In addition, any passengers who got off in Hong Kong or had close contact with the infected man will be subject to tests for coronavirus.  

The 80-year-old patient 'did not visit a medical centre inside the ship while he was sailing with us', according to cruise operator Carnival Japan. 

'According to the hospital where he is staying, his condition is stable and infection was not found among his family members who sailed with him,' they said.  

Despite the large number of people on the ship, photos from inside show usually-bustling communal areas are all but deserted as those on board are confined to their cabin rooms to prevent any possible spread of the virus

Images show corridors and a huge atrium left empty save for medical officials wandering around in protective masks

A man in protective clothing walks on the sixth deck of the Diamond Princess today where quarantine specialists are carrying out tests 

Medics today went deck-to-deck through the Diamond Princess to test for the virus

Japan has already barred foreign nationals who have been to Hubei, the Chinese province at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak.  

People with passports issued in Hubei are also banned from Japan in a bid to contain the crisis. 

Visitors who display symptoms of the new virus when they arrive in Japan can also be denied entry. 

A total of 11 foreigners have been barred from entering so far, the immigration service agency said today.  Japan has also flown more than 500 citizens out of Wuhan, where the coronavirus originated.  

The disease is believed to have emerged in a market in Wuhan that sold wild animals, spreading rapidly as people travelled for the Lunar New Year holiday in late January. 

The virus has so far spread to more than 20 countries, prompting the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency. 

In addition, Hong Kong yesterday announced that a 39-year-old coronavirus patient had died in hospital - only the second fatality outside mainland China.