China is bringing in 7 cruise ships to house medical workers in Wuhan City at a time when such vessels are under scrutiny after Diamond Princess suffered an epidemic Coronavirus outbreak (625 total infected, including 2 deaths) in Japan.
The first of the ships, Blue Whale, arrived on Friday (February 21) from Yichang, a nearby city down Yangtze River. The 7 boats will provide a total of 1469 beds.
Tens of thousands of medical workers were brought into central Hubei province and the capital of Wuhan from across the country to help contain the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to a senior Chinese health official, as of February 11, a total of 1716 health workers had been infected by the virus, including several who died.
The cruise ships are normally used for river sailings in the Three Gorges scenic area. They are expected to provide safe living conditions and dining for medics as they fight the epidemic, state media reported.
For Coronavirus updates on cruise ship quarantines (infected passengers and crew) and top-pandemic countries (COVID-19 cases and deaths, daily updated statistics) see at CruiseMapper's Norovirus page.