KOLKATA: A resident of West Bengal’s North Dinajpur district is among the 138 Indians stuck on a cruise liner quarantined at a Japanese port after some passengers were detected with Novel Coronavirus.
Binay Kumar Sarkar, a resident of Chakulia village, is a crew member of the cruise liner ‘Diamond Princess’. Altogether, there are 132 Indian crew members and six passengers who are onboard Diamond Princess. Sarkar, 31, is on duty at the communication control room of the ship. Earlier, he had made a post on the social media pleading for help from Indian and Bengal governments for being rescued from the ship that is docked at Yokohama port.
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Later, a team from Indian embassy in Japan met Sarkar and promised all help. ‘The team from the Indian embassy came to meet me and assured me of all necessary help. A medical team has been posted at the cruise liner. I am grateful to the governments for the initiatives that have been taken (so far)…,’’ Binay said over the phone. The ship is carrying 3,700 people comprising both passengers and crew members. Japan has already examined 280 people and reports of six of them came on Saturday. Among the six, three have been identified as infected with Coronavirus.
Binay’s family members are worried about his well-being. ‘’He is staying among Coronavirus victims. My son told me that the passengers started falling victims of Coronavirus after the ship started from Hong Kong on January 25. Those who have been detected with Coronavirus have not been kept in isolation wards. I urge to the state government to initiate all efforts to bring my son back,’’ Binay’s father Chandi Sarkar pleaded.
42 people under observation in Nagaland
The Nagaland government has kept 42 people, who had arrived in the state in recent past from China and other countries, under observation. Officials in the state said there was no confirmed case of the virus’s infection in the state as of now. Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom said all the 42 people, seven of whom have been kept in isolation at their homes, were being monitored twice a day as per standard protocol. He informed the Assembly that the department had operationalised a public health emergency operations centre and the reports of day-to-day monitoring were being shared with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.