Brits stranded on cruise liner to be flown home – Trump
Donald Trump has said arrangements have been made with the UK Government to evacuate British passengers on two cruise ship set to soon dock in Florida after being hit by the coronavirus.
Four people have died aboard the Zaandam, including 75-year-old British man John Carter, whose widow has been isolated on board since his death.
The couple were among 200 Britons on the vessel, which has recorded nine confirmed cases of Covid-19 and has some 200 people on board who have reported flu-like symptoms.
Raising hopes Mr Carter’s partner and other UK nationals still stranded on the cruise liner would be repatriated soon, Mr Trump said arrangements had been made.
Addressing the issue at a White House briefing on Wednesday night, he added: “It’s a tough situation you know. You can understand you have people that are sick on the ships and states don’t want to take (them). They have enough problems right now.
“They don’t want to take them. But we have to from a humane standpoint. We don’t have a choice. I don’t want to do that but we have to. People are dying.”
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab earlier that the Government was “determined to help Britons stranded abroad” and that it would “work with British Airways to keeps flights running, so travelling Brits can get back to the UK”.
The Zaandam offloaded its healthy passengers onto its sister-ship, the Rotterdam, earlier this week, with both vessels having been denied entry to ports in several countries.
The cruise liners are seeking to dock in Florida but became embroiled in a dispute, with local authorities reluctant to take more patients into a state healthcare system already stretched by the coronavirus outbreak.
