2 more Russians on cruise ship diagnosed with virus

Two more Russians aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined in Japan have been diagnosed with a new virus, the Russian Embassy in Japan said Thursday.

The two will be transferred to a hospital in Japan for treatment, according to the embassy statement published on Facebook.

The Diamond Princess has been docked in the Yokohama port near Tokyo since February 4, when 10 people on board tested positive for the virus.

So far 621 cases of the virus, which has been named COVID-19, have been confirmed among the the Diamond Princess's original 3,711 people on board.

In total, the outbreak of the virus centered in China has infected more than 75,000 people worldwide and killed over 2,100.

Russia so far has reported only two cases of the disease on its soil.

Two Chinese nationals diagnosed with the virus and hospitalised in two different regions of Siberia in late January have recovered and have been released from hospitals.

Earlier this week the Russian Embassy in Japan said that one Russian aboard the Diamond Princess was confirmed to have the virus.

His wife was initially reported to have contracted the disease as well, but embassy officials later clarified that she was hospitalised as a precaution due to the high risk of getting infected.