Thousands of people trapped on a cruise ship in Hong Kong have been allowed to disembark after being quarantined for four days.

The cruise ship, World Dream, was put in quaratine on January 5 after three passengers tested positive for coronavirus.

The ship, operated by Dream Cruises, docked in Hong Kong after it was denied entry to the Taiwan port of Kaohsiung on Tuesday.

More than 3600 passengers were on board at the time.

The three people who contracted the deadly virus were from the Chinese mainland and had been on board from January 19 to January 24, Hong Kong's health department said, adding that most of those remaining on board were from Hong Kong.

Some crew had reported symptoms including fever, health officials said.

Hong Kong now has 29 confirmed cases of coronavirus and one person has died so far.  

Worldwide, the total number on confirmed cases has risen to 40,128 and more than 800 have died, the majority in the epicentre of the outbreak in Hubei, China.  

Hong Kong health workers have been on strike this week to demand that city authorities seal the border with China, where the virus originated last month, to block its spread.

The coronavirus epidemic, which began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, has rekindled memories in Hong Kong of a 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), another coronavirus that began in China and killed nearly 300 people in the city.

In Yokohoma Japan, a further 41 people on board the Princess Cruise ship have been diagnosed with coronavirus including five Australians.

The total number of people on board has now risen to 61 with roughly 3700 people in lock-down on board the vessel.

Passengers are being asked to remain in their cabins to prevent the spread of the virus, however they were expected to be allowed on the open deck for fresh air from today.

They will be under supervision and have to stay a metre apart and wear masks at all times.

Source: 9News https://www.9news.com.au/world/coronavirus-hong-kong-thousands-quarantined-on-world-dream-cruise-ship-allowed-to-disembark/7cfc22af-50a7-4952-9d4c-7f3da805c244