None of Bosnian nationals in Japan infected with coronavirus, ambassador says

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

None of the Bosnian citizens currently residing in Japan has been infected with coronavirus, Ambassador Sinisa Berjan told N1 on Friday, adding that the embassy has been in touch with them throughout the period after the novel coronavirus first appeared.

“The Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Japan has on several occasions contacted our nationals that are registered with the Embassy, sending them useful information on coronavirus. None of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been infected with coronavirus,” said the ambassador, adding that there are about 50 Bosnian citizens currently residing in Japan.

As for the crew member on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship near Japanese coast, Berjan said the Embassy is maintaining the contact with him.

“The Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina is communicating on a daily basis with Bosnian citizen onboard Diamond Princess, luxurious cruiser docked off Japan's Yokohama port. He is feeling well and has not been infected with the coronavirus. Since he is the crew member, he has been running minimum activities within his scope of work, strictly sticking to prescribed protection measures in these circumstances,” said the ambassador.

According to him, the passengers are set to leave the cruiser on Saturday and the crew will then start the 14-day quarantine.

Citing the Japanese health ministry officials, CNN reported that 13 more cases of the novel coronavirus have been diagnosed on board the Diamond Princess, which increased the total number of confirmed cases linked to the ship to 639.

It comes as the departure of passengers who have tested negative continues in Yokohama, where the Diamond Princess has been quarantined for two weeks.

The final passengers are expected to leave the ship on Saturday or shortly afterwards.