Princess Cruises said in a statement to CNN that their hearts went out to the relatives of the two Diamond Princess passengers who died today of the novel coronavirus.
The statement, offering the company’s “sincere condolences,” was sent after Japan’s health ministry confirmed the two fatalities. Ben Westcott and Adam Renton reported on CNN
There are now more than 600 cases of the coronavirus among former passengers of the cruise ship.
“Our hearts go out to the families and friends and all others who are impacted by these losses,” the statement said.
“All of us at Princess Cruises, as well as the crew of the Diamond Princess, offer our sincere condolences.”
A spokesperson for the company said that no further information will be released at this time. Passengers who tested negative are still departing the ship in Tokyo today.
Related: Global death toll hits 2,120, China reports large drop in new cases
As of Feb 19, the capital city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus is believed to have originated at a seafood and meat market, accounted for 88 deaths, the local health authority said.
The province also reported a sharp drop in newly confirmed cases at 349, compared with 1,693 on Wednesday. Ten out of 15 cities in the provinces tallied reported negative numbers of new cases on Thursday. The authority did not specify the reasons for negative cases in those cities.
These figures raised the province’s total infections to 62,031 since December, when the illness now known as Covid-19 was first reported.