Reports and updates of the Coronavirus-hit cruise ship named Diamond Princess are pouring in constantly. Deemed as one of the most significant virus outbreaks outside mainland China, the ship was sailing in Japanese waters and has been quarantined since the virus detection.
Rescue operations for some 3,700-odd passengers who aboard the ship cruise ship are underway with US gradually evacuating its citizens. Additionally, the Japanese government is also making efforts to calm the anxious passengers in the ship.
According to a news report published in Macotakara, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan is providing approximately 2,000 “SoftBank iPhones” for the passengers.
The effort by the country’s health department is in lieu with keeping the passengers calm. Through the distribution of free iPhones, the passengers may be able to get in touch with medical professionals, book an appointment, accept drug requests, and discuss the trauma with psychologists via chats.
To avail of these digital services, the report stated that the iPhones come with pre-installed Line app, which can help them consult doctors and psychologists in Japan via chats. The app will book a consultation session with a medical doctor.
oreover, the government body has ensured that both the ship’s crew and passengers, have “at least one iPhone in every passengers cabins and crew rooms.”
9to5 Mac reported that the reason to distribute iPhones to passengers installed with a health app is because most of the passengers would not be able to download the Line App from an iOS App Store or Google Play Store registered in a different country than Japan.
The deadly coronavirus outbreak was first detected in the Diamond Princess cruise ship when an 80-year-old passenger tested positive for the virus on 1 February, a week after disembarking in Hong Kong.
By 4 February, all the passengers and crew members were the remaining 3,700 passengers and crew members were asked to stay on the ship under quarantine orders. The ship is currently docked at the port city of Yokohama, Japan and the quarantine imposed on the cruise ship is set to end on 19 February.
Since the detection, the number of infected people on the ship has surged to 355. The ship was carrying 138 are Indians among other passengers, out of which two have been tested positive for the virus.
Currently, according to news reports, US is in the process of gradually around 400 Amercians from the Diamond Princess cruise.
Source: Livemint
