Guests on Coronavirus-Quarantined Cruise Ship Are Leaving Surprising Messages on Their Doors

The quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship now docked at Yokohama Port has sadly become the site of the second-largest outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outside China. According to NHK News, out of a total of 3,700 people on board, 218 of them, including 11 crew members, have been identified as infected with the virus as of February 13th.

Naturally, concern is running high both within the rooms where guests are confined and within the halls for those who take care of them. More than 1,000 crew members are wearing their uniforms, masks and gloves, as they go about their duties on board the quarantined ship, interacting with passengers who are potentially infected.

Some guests are aware of the crew's difficult situation. As reported by Twitter user Tina (@keto444), caring guests have taken it upon themselves to show their appreciation by leaving kind messages of support in front of their doors:

フォロワーさんに関係ないかもしれないけど、ニュース見てて心が痛いから伝えたい。実は私去年の夏までダイヤモンドプリンセスで働いていました。メディアの伝え方がネガティブな事しかなくて悲しくなりました。実は感謝しあってみんな頑張ってる?この写真は今船に乗って働いてる私の友達からです。 pic.twitter.com/0BFEREkHSU
— てぃな (@keto444) February 11, 2020

"This may be unrelated to my followers but my heart aches from seeing the news, so there's something I want to say. Actually, I used to work for Diamond Princess until summer of last year. It makes me so sad that the media's way of reporting is so negative. The truth is that everyone is grateful to each other and doing their best. These pictures were sent to me by a friend now working on board."

Let's hope these heartfelt messages written in English provide encouragement and solace to the hard-working crew members and captain doing their best to manage a very difficult situation aboard the ship.

On social media, messages of support for the Diamond Princess are pouring in with the hashtag Ganbare Diamond Princess #がんばれダイヤモンドプリンセス (hang on / persevere, Diamond Princess). It's times like these when the emotional toll of a humanitarian crisis looms large that expressions of caring and compassion are most appreciated.

Note: This article was updated at 14:50 to reflect new information received about the number of infected people on board the ship.

By - Ben K.