Condition of 8 coronavirus-infected Indians onboard Diamond Princess improving

The condition of eight Indians, who were onboard quarantined cruise ship off the coast of Japan and currently undergoing treatment for the new strain of coronavirus, is improving, the Indian Embassy in Tokyo said on Friday.

In a tweet, the embassy informed that no additional Indian national onboard Diamond Princess has tested positive for novel coronavirus since Thursday.

"As of 1400 JST today, NO additional Indian national on #DiamondPrincess tested positive for #COVID19 since yesterday. @IndianEmbTokyo working with Japanese authorities and ship company for the safe return of Indians. Conditions of 8 Indians receiving treatment are improving," the embassy tweeted.

A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew and 6 passengers, were among the 3,711 people on board the luxury cruise ship which was quarantine off Japan on February 5 after it emerged that a former passenger had tested positive for the virus.

Coronavirus first originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has since then killed more than 2200 people in that country alone, while cases have been reported in several countries across the world, including India.