Thousands of passengers quarantined inside their cabins for the better part of two weeks aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Japan due to the 2019-nCoV coronavirus outbreak are getting a special Valentine’s dinner and the gift of an Apple iPhone from the Japanese government.
Justin McCurry for The Guardian:
The crew of the Diamond Princess had gone the extra mile on Friday – as they have done so often during their ship’s quarantine off Japan – with Californian wine and a dinner menu that included “Cupid’s avocado and shrimp”, coq au vin and a “surprise dessert of the day”.
https://twitter.com/quarantinedond1/status/1227837863057772545
Passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, quarantined on board because of the coronavirus, are to be given iPhones for communication and information about the situation. Some 2,000 iPhones with a new medical consultation app are being provided by Softbank, and will be shared with one phone per cabin or crew quarters.
The ship is currently stationary off the coast of Yokohama, Japan. According to Japanese site Macotakara, passengers are using the medical app’s chat feature to communicate with doctors. “[You can] access the special app by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to ask by chat about medication or any other things that may concern you,” says Danbo. “The app will also book a consultation session with a doctor.”
The Japanese government is reported by The Guardian newspaper to have given the iPhones to passengers, rather than simply loaning them.
MacDailyNews Take: Certainly this is no the nicest situation to be in, but a free iPhone can certainly lift spirits! Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! ❤️