Cracking jokes and delivering critical health information in his lilting Italian accent, the captain of the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess has soothed nerves and won plaudits for his leadership.

Gennaro Arma started his career with Princess Cruises in 1998 as a lowly cadet and rose through the ranks, taking the helm of the Diamond Princess in 2018, according to the firm.

"Born in the beautiful peninsula of Sorrento, Italy, Captain Arma has always been passionate about the sea," according to the company.

But he could scarcely have imagined a greater leadership challenge than he faces as captain of the Diamond Princess where more than 600 people have tested positive for coronavirus during a gruelling 14-day quarantine on his watch.

His frequent messages to 2,600 passengers cooped up round-the-clock in sometimes tiny, windowless cabins have sought to keep them informed and raise their spirits, even as fresh positive tests emerge daily.

"A diamond is a chunk of coal that did really well under pressure," he told passengers, referring to the ship's name and urging them to read messages of support trending on social media under the hashtag #hangintherediamondprincess.

"I am confident that remaining united as a family, we will successfully complete this journey together. The world is watching us. This is an additional reason for all of us to show our strength."

On Valentine's Day, he sent chocolates and hearts to passengers with notes of encouragement and recited a passage about love from the Bible.

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

- 'New grey hairs' -

As the torrid days of quarantine ticked by and nerves frayed, passengers came to rely on his soothing tone.

"One reason why a panic has not occurred among passengers is the captain's leadership," tweeted one person on board.

"Regular announcements of information, answering passengers' requests by consulting quarantine officers, walking on the deck, apologising for delayed medicine distribution... I want this kind of man to be our country's leader."

Another said he reminded him of Captain Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger, who calmly piloted a stricken airliner onto the Hudson River in New York.

Arma frequently expressed appreciation for the many messages of support passengers had sent him -- one reportedly addressed to the "fearless commander" -- and assured them he was holding up under the strain.

"For all of you who are concerned about me, I'm extremely moved by your kindness and I'd like to reassure you all that I'm absolutely fine. I'm very much the same captain that I was 12 days ago, just with the addition of a few new grey hairs," he said.

Liberally sprinkling his messages with Italian phrases such as "arrivederci" (goodbye) to departing passengers or "buon appetito" (enjoy your meal), he bashfully apologised for his thick Italian accent when speaking English.

"One of my friends at home sent me a video of one of my announcements. I would like to apologise to all of you that I had to put you through this time and time again," he said.

Trust me, when I heard the sound of my voice, I was shocked by how terrible I sound. However, I'm blaming the mask and I'm sticking to that story."

- 'Anti-Schettino' -

At home, he has been hailed as "il capitano coraggioso" (Captain Courageous") and even the "anti-Schettino", a reference to another Italian cruise ship captain with a less stellar reputation.

Francesco Schettino was dubbed "Captain Coward" after he spent a night on a rock as terrified passengers threw themselves off his Costa Concordia ship when it hit a rocky outcrop off the island of Giglio.

Arma told La Repubblica daily that "there is so much to do onboard. My only concern is looking after the passengers and the crew. Let's just hope it ends soon."

His wife Marianna said Arma was "calm, with a deep sense of his responsibilities".

"We are in contact but we try to do it quickly so as not to take up time for his duties which have to come first," she said.

Pietro Sagristani, the mayor of Arma's hometown of Sant'Agnello, said the whole community was following the news from Japan with concern.

"But we have confidence in him. He comes from a long line of seafarers and we know his courage."

"He'll be fine."

Two former Japan cruise ship passengers die: media
Tokyo (AFP) Feb 20, 2020 - Two former passengers of the coronavirus-wracked Diamond Princess have died, local media reported Thursday, as fears mount about those who have left the ship after testing negative for the virus.

A man and a woman in their 80s who had been infected have died, public broadcaster NHK and others reported, which would be the first fatal cases among the more than 600 on board the cruise ship.

Both had underlying conditions and had been taken off the ship on February 11 and 12 before being treated in hospital, NHK said.

The huge vessel moored in Yokohama near Tokyo is easily the biggest coronavirus cluster outside the Chinese epicentre, with 621 positive cases confirmed among the passengers and crew.

On Wednesday, 443 passengers disembarked from the ship after testing negative for the COVID-19 virus and not showing symptoms during a 14-day quarantine period. The complete removal of the passengers was expected to take at least three days.

More passengers left the ship on Thursday, packing into yellow buses and leaving for stations and airports for home.

But questions are increasingly being asked as to the wisdom of allowing former Diamond Princess passengers to roam freely around Japan's famously crowded cities, even if they have tested negative.

"Is it really safe to get off?" screamed a headline in the Nikkan Sports tabloid.

The paper quoted a passenger who said he was tested on February 15 and left four days later.

"I thought I could be infected during the four days. I thought 'Is it really ok'?"

The Diamond Princess was placed into quarantine on February 5 when a passenger who left in Hong Kong was found infected with the virus.

Passengers were confined to cabins except for brief trips on deck wearing masks and gloves, when they were told to keep their distance from others.

But a specialist in infectious diseases at Kobe University rocked the boat with a video slamming "completely chaotic" quarantine procedures onboard, in rare criticism from a Japanese official.

"The cruise ship was completely inadequate in terms of infection control," said Kentaro Iwata in videos he has since deleted, saying "there is no need to discuss this further".

The videos had been viewed more than a million times in Japanese and hundreds of thousands of times in English.

- 'I was so scared' -

Japan's health ministry lashed out in defence, saying it had conducted "consultations on appropriate infection control in the ship" with experts and taken a range of measures.

It also released a video showing passengers how to wash and disinfect their hands properly and had "proper hygiene management" for medical workers entering and coming off the ship.

In addition, risky and safe areas were strictly divided and there was a station installed for safely removing contaminated gear, the ministry said.

"We've been doing our best in the circumstances," Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told MPs on Thursday morning.

"I want you to understand that not only our officials at the health ministry but also Self-Defense Forces officials and medical officials are working desperately hard," he added.

Iwata, who spent several hours on the ship, had alleged: "There was no distinction between the green zone, which is free of infection, and the red zone, which is potentially contaminated by the virus."

He said he was so concerned at what he saw on the ship during a brief visit on Tuesday that he has placed himself in a 14-day quarantine to avoid infecting his family.

"I was in Africa dealing with the Ebola outbreak. I was in other countries dealing with the cholera outbreak. I was in China in 2003 to deal with SARS... I never had a fear of getting infection myself," he said in the video in English and Japanese.

"But inside Diamond Princess, I was so scared... because there was no way to tell where the virus is."

Several countries have evacuated their citizens from the ship and insisted they endure a further 14-day quarantine when they arrive on home soil.

Outside the Diamond Princess, Japan has seen 84 cases.

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