Hong Kong health authorities said Sunday a man evacuated last week from the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan has tested positive for the new coronavirus while under quarantine.
The 68-year-old man became ill while undergoing quarantine in a housing estate in the New Territories district of Fo Tan, where all 213 passengers who returned to Hong Kong are being held.
"That's why we need to quarantine those passengers disembarked from the Diamond Princess cruise because we are expecting there may be some cases coming from those group," said Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of Communicable Disease Branch of the Center for Health Protection.
Three chartered flights have evacuated 193 passengers from the stricken cruise ship since Wednesday. Twenty others returned on their own.
Including the man, the authorities on Sunday confirmed five additional coronavirus cases, bringing the territory's total to 74.
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