Sonali's father seeks her deportation from quarantined ship after testing negative for COVID-19

Dinesh Thakkar, father of Sonali Thakkar, the Indian security officer onboard quarantined Diamond Princess ship, on Saturday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deport his daughter back home as she has tested negative for coronavirus, an epidemic that originated from Chinese city of Wuhan last year and has claimed more than 1,500 lives so far.

"I request the Government of India to deport my daughter from the ship. She has tested negative for coronavirus. The Government of Japan is doing its best. All non-infected Indians should be deported," the father of Sonali told ANI.

Thakkar, a resident of Mumbai's adjoining Mira Road area, has pleaded with the Prime Minister that if the people who have tested negative for the deadly virus and asked to stay on the ship for a long time, then they too can get infected with the coronavirus.

"Therefore, other Indians stranded on the ship should be deported soon," he added.

Sonali, 24, has been stranded at the Yokohama Port in Japan for the past 12 days.

The quarantined ship has more than 3,000 passengers including six Indians and 1,100 crew members out of which 132 are Indians. So far, 218 people have been tested positive on the ship including three Indian crew members.

The havoc of the coronavirus that started in China has now spread all over the world.

On February 12, two Indian crew members were found positive of the coronavirus for the first time on the ship.

On Friday, Sonali posted a video of her on social media through which she requested the government for help.

Sonali's father said that his daughter used to talk to me daily on video calls and messages. "She called me today and said that she was also investigated and the report came last night, which came negative," Dinesh added.

One more Indian quarantined on Diamond Princess Cruise Ship tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on Friday, taking the total numbers of Indian nationals infected with the disease to three.

The Indian Embassy in Tokyo further informed me that the health conditions of all the three people infected with the deadly virus aboard the vessel are improving, he said.

The Mission is also coordinating with relevant Japanese authorities and the cruise company to ensure the well-being of all Indian nationals on-board the ship and for their early disembarkation after the end of the quarantine period.