Four Australians are among 65 NEW cases of coronavirus onboard the 'floating prison' Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined in port
- The new cases aboard the ship are in addition to 70 cases previously announced
- The latest batch of test results includes 11 Americans and 45 Japanese nationals
- It brings the total number of cases from Diamond Princess vessel to 135
- The new cases include Japanese, Americans, Philippines, Canada and Ukraine
- There's more than 40,500 cases worldwide, while more than 900 have died
Four Australians are among 65 newly-confirmed coronavirus cases aboard a quarantined cruise ship docked at Yokohama, Japanese authorities have confirmed.
The new cases aboard the Diamond Princess are in addition to 70 cases previously announced aboard the luxury ship, bringing the total number of cases from the vessel to 135.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said the department is urgently seeking advice from Japanese authorities on new cases among Australians on the ship.
None of the 266 people in quarantine in Darwin after being evacuated from the coronavirus epicentre in China have shown any signs of the respiratory infection, medical authorities say.
Japanese military personnel set up a covered walkway next to the Diamond Princess cruise ship today where thousands of people are in quarantine
Four Australians are among more than 65 newly-confirmed coronavirus cases aboard a quarantined cruise ship docked at Yokohama, Japanese authorities have confirmed
Five of the 15 confirmed Australian cases of coronavirus have been cleared, the government says, as it reassured those living near the Darwin evacuation centre that they are not at risk.
Local health officials confirmed that among the new infections were 45 Japanese nationals, 11 Americans, four Australians, three from the Philippines and one each from Canada and Ukraine.
The announcement last week that the Australians would be quarantined at a disused mining village near Darwin sparked anger among local parents, with the evacuees housed less than one kilometre from the Good Shepherd Lutheran College in Howard Springs.
While one mother said she would keep her teenage son home for at least the 14 days of the quarantine, Australia's deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly said if he had children at the school, 'I would have no hesitation in my kids going to school today.'
The new cases aboard the Diamond Princess are in addition to 70 cases previously announced aboard the luxury ship, bringing the total number of cases from the vessel to 135. Officials in protective suits walk on board the cruise ship Diamond Princess in Yokohama today
The Northern Territory's Acting Chief Health Officer Dianne Stephens spoke at the school on Monday to reassure parents and said there was a lot of misinformation.
That included reports in China that the virus could be spread by airborne transmission, which has sparked fears schoolchildren could end up catching it from mosquitoes.
'We have investigated that at a national level, we have reached in to Chinese authorities and it is a misuse of the word airborne,' she told reporters.
'There has been no evidence of infection amongst any of those cohorts here or in Christmas Island, who are nearly halfway through their quarantine period
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'It is definitely a droplet borne disease. If I am within one metre and I sneeze and cough on you and I have the novel coronavirus, then you are at risk of getting infected.'
Face masks help prevent droplet infection, she said.
Prof Stephens said it was unfortunate the community and school were not consulted about the quarantining but said the decision would not have been Face masks if it threatened anyone's safety.
A girl suspected of having coronavirus on far more remote Christmas Island, where a previous planeload of Australians was sent last week, has also tested negative.
A passenger stands on the balcony on board the Diamond Princess yesterday with guests facing further tests for coronavirus
The evacuees, including 92 children, at the Manigurr-ma Village at Howard Springs, were tired but in good spirits, said Abigail Trewin, a director with the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre.
They were receiving daily health checks and had been separated into smaller groups to prevent the virus spreading if anyone did have it, she said.
'The kids are super excited to be home on Aussie soil; there have been repeated thankyous for bringing people home, which is lovely to hear,' she said.
The number of cases worldwide has reached more than 40,500 while more than 900 people have died from the virus, mainly in Wuhan where the outbreak began.
The virus is believed to have emerged in a market selling wild animals in Wuhan last year before spreading across China.
