All five from Tamil Nadu on quarantined ship coronavirus free: Chef

MADURAI: Anbalagan, a chef from Madurai who is among the nearly 3,500 people including around 160 from India stuck on board the American cruise ship ‘Diamond Princess’ after many passengers contracted the novel coronavirus (nCoV) said that normalcy is returning in the ship. The cruise ship has been anchored off the Yokohama port in Japan since February 4.
Talking to TOI through voice chat on Tuesday, Anbalagan said all five crew members from Tamil Nadu on board are free from nCoV.
“The situation was critical as we were clueless till yesterday (Monday). The management informed us today (Tuesday) that we have already been under six days of quarantine and that eight more days are left,” he said and expressed confidence of returning home.
“The company has assured all of us two months’ paid leave once we are off the ship in eight days,” he said.
The 41-year-old, who is a resident of Uthappanaickanur village near Usilampatti in Madurai district hails from Nagamalai. After completing BSc in hotel management in Madurai Kamaraj University he took up a job in Kodaikanal before he joined the shipping industry as a chef about 16 years ago.
Anbalagan said that he started working in the US-based cruise ship company Princes Cruises that operates ‘Diamond Princess’ about 15 years ago. Stating that the ship has been primarily on long cruises from Japan in recent time and was on longer cruises covering Singapore and Malaysia, he said that the last trip was from Yokohama on January 20. Among those on board was an elderly person.
“He disembarked at Hong Kong five days later (on January 25) as he fell ill and we returned to Yokohama where we were told that we cannot disembark as he tested positive for nCoV. The ship has been in the sea since then,” he said and added that around 120 passengers and a dozen crew were taken by the health authorities as they fell ill. “We don’t know if they had tested positive or negative for nCoV,” he said.
He said that the crew have been given individual thermometers and advised to consume lot of water. “We have been asked to alert the health authorities if our body temperature crossed 37°C. We check every two or three hours. My temperature was 34°C on Tuesday morning and 35°C by afternoon. It is well within the mark,” he said and showed a video of the relaxed crew having food in the dining area.
“Initially, I was angry with the Japanese health authorities but now I understand that they have among the best practices in medicine,” he said and added that the plight of the passengers and crew reached global leaders including US president Donald Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister S Jaishankar and is confident of getting help from them.
Meanwhile, on board Anbalagan and other crew are busy serving the guests.
They have been provided free Wi-Fi connectivity using which they are able to stay in touch with their dear ones back home.
Thiruparankundram MLA P Saravanan got in touch with the chef’s family and assured to bring him back home.