The Diamond Princess is ready to set sail again, but not without a parting message for Japan.

The US-operated cruise ship Diamond Princess (pictured above docked in Australia), has finally been declared corona-free. The ship has been docked in Yokohama since February 4 and served as a makeshift quarantine station, after it was discovered that passengers were testing positive for coronavirus. Out of the roughly 3,700 passengers on board, over 700 would go on to test positive for the virus. All passengers on board had to stay in quarantine for two weeks, and according to some reports, the passengers got treated pretty well!

But while the passengers were able to disembark in late February, the crew23 were still working hard to get the ship ready for future passengers. This meant the ship had to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before the quarantine could be lifted. The Diamond Princess company also posted to their official Twitter account that they will be completely refurbishing the ship, replacing all the “mattresses, linens, toys, etc“.

The ship finally got the approval for its quarantine to be lifted on March 31. To show her appreciation, the Diamond Princess sent out a special message on the side of the ship, using the lights in the ship cabins.

▼ The side of the ship has been lit up with the message ‘Arigato Japan’.

https://twitter.com/jack0kuma0/status/1244590381460623367

“When the Diamond Princess left Japan (note: this Twitter user later updated this post to correct that the ship was still in Yokohama port), she sent us this message using the cabin lights. I wish this kind of news was being shared more. No matter how much they were condemned or criticized, the crew worked really hard to overcome this situation.”

Many Twitter users were touched by the gesture made by the Diamond Princess.

“I wish the news would report this kind of stuff!”
“The Diamond Princess got a lot of bad press. But what was bad was the virus, not the ship! I’m looking forward to seeing her sail again!”
“This is beautiful!”
“I hope everyone who worked hard despite this unprecedented situation is rewarded somehow.”

It’s always nice to hear some good news, especially in these current times. With the Diamond Princess clean and ready to sail the world again, we can only hope that an end to this global pandemic will be on the horizon too.

Source: Twitter@jack0kuma0 , Twitter@yk40188458
Top image: Wikipedia
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