Medical Transport for 769 COVID-19 Patients on a Cruise Ship by Japan DMAT

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, carrying 3,711 passengers and crew members, docked at Yokohama Port in Japan on February 3, 2020 A quarantine was immediately instituted because one passenger who had disembarked in Hong Kong was confirmed to have tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) After the quarantine began, all passengers and crew were tested using the SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction assay on the ship, 696 of whom tested positive In total, 769 patients, including 696 with COVID-19, required transport to a hospital The Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) successfully picked up and safely transported the COVID-19 patients using a novel classification system to prioritize patients The Japan DMAT transported 203 patients to hospitals in Kanagawa and another 566 patients to hospitals in 15 different prefectures