British man tests positive for coronavirus on honeymoon cruise
A British honeymooner is being taken to hospital after testing positive for coronavirus on board a cruise ship.
Alan Steele revealed on social media that he is the British holidaymaker diagnosed with the infection on the Diamond Princess, which is quarantined off Yokohama in Japan.
Mr Steele, from Wolverhampton, said on Friday that he was being taken to hospital while his wife, Wendy, remained on board the ship.
Mr Steele posted on Facebook that he was not showing any symptoms but may be a carrier.
He added: "Just to let you all know I have been diagnosed as having the virus and am being shipped to hospital.
"Would also like to say that at the moment I am not showing any symptoms so just possibly a carrier.
"Will let you know how I am going on when possible."
Princess Cruises said an additional 41 people, including Mr Steele, had tested positive for the virus on the Diamond Princess, taking the total number of cases to 61.
The company said the quarantine on the ship was due to end on February 19, barring "unforeseen developments", and confirmed that all the affected guests were being taken to hospital.
The announcement comes after a third person in the UK was diagnosed with coronavirus, and is believed to have caught the illness in Singapore.
Fellow Diamond Princess passenger David Abel said in a video update posted on Facebook that he had been dining with Mr Steele.
He added: "He will almost certainly be leaving the ship today – real, real shame.
"I have no idea how he must be feeling ... they're on their honeymoon.
"He will be going off in to quarantine in a medical facility and she has to stay on board the ship because she's not displaying symptoms.
"That's going to be really, really tough for him so just bear a thought for these passengers who just don't know what is going to be lying ahead of them."
There are 78 people with British passports – including crew – on the Diamond Princess, sources told the PA news agency.
There are no plans to fly anyone off the ship and back to the UK at the moment.
The latest diagnosis comes as as health experts issued a new warning to travellers arriving from several Asian countries.
The third patient to be diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK is reported to be a middle-aged British man who is understood to be the first UK national to contract the disease.
He is thought to have been diagnosed in Brighton and was transferred to St Thomas' Hospital in London, where there is an infectious disease unit, on Thursday afternoon.
Two other patients are still being treated at the Royal Victoria Infirmary infectious diseases centre in Newcastle.
One is a student at the University of York, while the other is a family member.
They had travelled from China in the days before their diagnosis.
The Government is now urging travellers from countries including Thailand, Singapore, Japan and South Korea to self-isolate if they begin to feel unwell.
Other countries on the list are Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Macau, as well as mainland China.
Anyone arriving from these locations should stay indoors and avoid contact with other people if they develop symptoms such as a cough, fever or shortness of breath, the advice warns.
The UK Foreign Office has advised Britons in China to leave if they are able to.
More than 80 UK citizens and family members who were the first to be quarantined at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral have been told they can leave next Thursday.
The group are spending 14 days in isolation but will be released next week as long as they remain symptom-free.
The global death toll from coronavirus rose to 636 on Friday, with the number of confirmed cases rising to 31,161. Some 260 cases have been recorded outside China.
