Passengers Leave Diamond Princess as Coronavirus Quarantine Ends

Several hundred passengers quarantined for coronavirus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship disembarked on February 19 after being held on the ship for 14 days.

The ship has been held in quarantine for the virus since arriving in Yokohama earlier this month.

At least 531 people have been confirmed to have had coronavirus on board the ship, according to Japanese health authorities; this represents around 15 percent of those on board.

Some passengers from Canada, Australia and Hong Kong prepared to evacuate via charter flights organised by their governments.

About 200 Australian passengers spent the day preparing to evacuate the ship on a chartered Qantas flight to accommodation at Howards Springs, near Darwin, to wait out another 14 days of quarantine before being allowed back home.

According to Kyodo News, “The disembarkation of the remaining some 2,500 is expected to take three days at least, according to the government. The first group was comprised of 443 mainly elderly passengers who have tested negative for the virus and have completed final checkups with doctors.” Credit: Yann Rousseau/Les Echos via Storyful