More American passengers on a cruise ship quarantined off Japan due to the spread of novel coronavirus COVID-19 will be offered a way ashore, U.S. diplomatic officials said late Friday. But the exit will come with a caveat.
The voluntary exits were announced by Japanese officials Thursday and began Friday, with 22 passengers offered the chance to leave and 11 accepting, according to the embassy, which cited figures from Princess Cruises. Two of those who left the vessel were U.S. citizens, diplomatic officials said.
"Please note that passengers given this option will not be exiting quarantine, but rather will be moved to a facility provided by the Government of Japan," the embassy said in its statement to passengers and crew.reported the United States planned to"evacuate" as many as 380 American citizens aboard the ship and fly them stateside.
Asked about the report, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in a statement,"We continue to collaborate closely with Health and Human Services , Centers for Disease Control , the Government of Japan, and Carnival Cruise lines on all aspects of this dynamic situation." An American evacuee of Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, told NBC News about a town hall meeting Friday at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, a destination for American evacuees. The audience was told Diamond Princess passengers will be brought there and quarantined away from the Americans who came from Wuhan, the source said. Some cruise ship travelers would go to another location, however.
As of Friday 218 of the 771 passengers and crew that have been tested are positive for the virus, also known as COVID-19, authorities said.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has four experts in Japan, with more expected to arrive in a matter of days, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said., the National Health Commission Friday confirmed 66,492 cases of COVID-19, with the death toll at 1,523.
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