Japan grapples with spread of Covid-19 on land and at sea

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, with people quarantined onboard due to fears of the new Covid-19 coronavirus, is docked at the Daikaku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama port on Feb 16, 2020.

TOKYO (The Straits Times/ANN): Japan is bracing for the coronavirus outbreak to worsen, as Health Minister Katsunobu Kato on Sunday (Feb 16) pointed to several untraceable cases and an emergency government meeting of experts noted that the onset is likely only "at an early stage".

This comes as Japan is already facing a headache over the Diamond Princess cruise liner, off Yokohama. Another 70 cases were confirmed on Sunday, bringing the total infected on the ship to 355 as governments began making plans to evacuate their nationals marooned on the vessel.