Scott McPherson's Web Presence

Now is not the time to be on an Asian cruise.  Alas, the passengers of the Diamond Princess are learning this too late.  The 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members are under a mandatory 14-day quarantine after ten people on the cruise tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus. The Washington Post has the story in today's paper.

There is a second cruise ship, the World Dream, with 1,800 passengers.  Hong Kong authorities are testing those passengers after one became ill with symptoms and the subsequent disclosure that several Chinese had been diagnosed with coronavirus on the previous cruise of the same ship.

Elsewhere, a California couple who had been self-isolating at home following the husband's return from China have been taken to a hospital.  The husband infected his wife and both had been doing well when, suddenly, they both took a turn for the worse.

It appears that in all these cases, the victims are 50+ years of age.

Worldwide, the virus has sickened a confirmed 24,324, with an estimated 3,000 in critical condition, according to the Washington Post. Those are 3,000 people who would require an ICU or comparable facility, at least under normal circumstances.  There are 490 confirmed deaths this morning. The CFR holds at 2%.