The novel pneumonia, which derived from Wuhan, China, plunges the globe into a pit of misery. The new type of coronavirus is taken as the cause of this pneumonia. In relation to this virus, two cruise ships, the Westerdam and the Diamond Princess, collect strong public attention. Both ships were suspected that there might be some infected persons with this virus on board, but the aftermath of both ships were completely different.
In the case of the Westerdam, it was refused to land at several ports and drifted around the South and East China Sea, or North Pacific Ocean for more than one week to seek a port which welcomes it. Unable to stand by any longer, Cambodia reached its helping hand to the ship and all the passengers were able to step out on the soil. Then they left Cambodia for their home countries. However, an infected person was detected later, but no nations would ever be able to accuse developing Cambodia of passing them without any quarantine. Each country which received passengers from the Westerdam would have to check their medical check and quarantine.
On the other hand, in the case of the Diamond Princess, Japan, by itself, took on the quarantine of about 3700 passengers and crew members and medical treatments of infected people. Japan, as one of the developed countries, naturally lead the way in the process of the control of the infection, but I wondered why the U.S., which owns this cruise ship, and the U.K., where the Diamond Princess is registered, retreated into silence. A few countries like the U.S. and Canada decided to take their countries' passengers home. The U.S. responded to the American passengers who were tired of living in confinement. Canada was willing to mitigate the burden of Japan.
I heard that there's no international rule against such conditions. I think the international society requires some resolution against the next outbreak of some pathogenic organisms.
(Vocabulary)
retreat 引き下がる, 立ち去る, 逃げる
retreat to/into/from etc. sth ＜場所＞へ［の中から，から］逃げる
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