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. 2020 Dec;14(6):e47-e50.
doi: 10.1017/dmp.2020.187. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

Medical Transport for 769 COVID-19 Patients on a Cruise Ship by Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team

Hideaki Anan  1 , Hisayoshi Kondo  2 , Ichiro Takeuchi  3 , Tomoki Nakamori  4 , Yu Ikeda  1 , Osamu Akasaka  1 , Yuichi Koido  2
Affiliations

Medical Transport for 769 COVID-19 Patients on a Cruise Ship by Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team

Hideaki Anan et al. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, carrying 3711 passengers and crew members, docked at Yokohama Port in Japan on February 3, 2020. A quarantine was immediately instituted because 1 passenger who had disembarked in Hong Kong was confirmed to have tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). After the quarantine began, all passengers and crew were tested using the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) polymerase chain reaction assay on the ship, 696 of whom tested positive. In total, 769 patients, including 696 with COVID-19, required transport to a hospital. The Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) successfully picked up and safely transported the COVID-19 patients using a novel classification system to prioritize patients. The Japan DMAT transported 203 patients to hospitals in Kanagawa and another 566 patients to hospitals in 15 different prefectures.

Keywords: disaster medicine; infectious disease medicine; quarantine.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Number of Hospitalized Patients in Each Prefecture.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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