Health

Coronavirus evacuations: 35 passengers from quarantined Diamond Princess set to fly to Britain



An evacuation flight is to bring 35 passengers from the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship to the UK, the Standard understands. 

The 35 passengers, a mix of Brits and EU nationals, are set to board the plane leaving Japan tomorrow.

They have been provisionally confirmed aboard the voyage, though will be tested again ahead of departure. 


There were some 78 Brits aboard the boat, of whom four tested postitive for the Covid-19 virus and were subesquently hospitalised.

In total, there have been more than 600 confirmed cases of the illness among the 3,700 on the vessel.

The ship was on lockdown for two weeks but those trapped aboard have since been allowed to depart. 

The plane has landed at Haneda airport in Tokyo and is due to leave on Saturday morning local time. 

Only those without symptoms will be allowed to board the flight to the Boscombe Down Ministry of Defence base, near Salisbury in Wiltshire.

The Brits will then be taken to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral for a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

In addition to the passengers aboard the flight there will also be UK Government medics on the journey. 

Brits On Coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess Cruise Ship To Be Flown Home

One passenger, who was diagnosed with Covid-19 and has since been given the all-clear, joked that the experience will be like visiting a holiday camp.

Honeymooner Alan Steele was taken to a Japanese hospital and has since tested negative for the virus and been reunited with his wife, Wendy.

“Wendy’s test was negative so Butlins the Wirral here we come for 14 days,” Mr Steele posted on Facebook.

Elaine Spencer is one of those who has been trapped on the ship.

Ms Spencer, from Sittingbourne in Kent, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she was “relieved” to be coming home.

Asked how the Foreign Office had handled their repatriation, she said “slowly”.

Since being kept on board the cruise liner in the port of Yokohama, a total of 634 passengers and crew have been infected, accounting for more than half of all the confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China.

It is understood that some British nationals who are part of the Diamond Princess crew have opted against flying back to the UK.

Some British nationals who were passengers have not registered for the flight, some have returned to their homes overseas, while a number boarded an earlier evacuation flight to Hong Kong, where they live, it is understood.

The four Britons on board the Diamond Princess who have tested positive for coronavirus will not be on the flight.

David and Sally Abel gained an international following for their upbeat Facebook posts (PA)

David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, are now being treated in a Japanese hospital after spending days shut in their cabin following their diagnosis with the virus.

In a Facebook post, Mr Abel said he and his wife were “in the best place” and said the couple will need to test negative for Covid-19 three times after treatment.

“See you all before you know it,” he added.

David is being treated at a hospital with his wife in Japan (Facebook/David Abel)

Meanwhile, Britons in Cambodia who left another cruise ship, the Westerdam, and who have been cleared for travel are being assisted by the Foreign Office to make their way home.

The group are receiving health advice and being helped with commercial flight bookings. All have tested negative after one case was diagnosed on board.

It is unclear how many Britons are returning and whether some British passengers had already returned.


Passengers from the MS Westerdam bid farewell to one another before heading for the airport (AP)

Public Health England (PHE) said airport health teams would meet the flights and speak to Westerdam passengers about any symptoms.

If they do not have symptoms, passengers will be given health advice and told to self-isolate at home for 14 days but, if they have symptoms, they will be taken to hospital for testing.

Coronavirus: The confirmed cases around the world

As of 2pm on Friday, a total of 5,885 people in the UK have been tested for coronavirus, of whom nine have tested positive.

There have been more than 75,000 confirmed infections recorded in mainland China and more than 1,000 cases across 26 other countries – including those on board the Diamond Princess.

Authorities in China recorded 118 deaths on Thursday, taking the total to 2,236 inside the country.

In the World Health Organisation (WHO) briefing on Thursday, director-general Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said data continues to show a decline in new cases “but this is no time for complacency”.



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