After more than two weeks, quarantine for the cruise ship Diamond Princess has officially ended and passengers have started to disembark, the owner Princess Cruises informed today. The ship has been docked in Yokohama, Japan since early February, amid coronavirus outbreak.
Princess Cruises now confirmed that the Embassies of Canada, Australia and Hong Kong are coordinating the collection and transport of their respective citizens (guests and crew) via charter flights today.
Based on information provided by the embassies directly to their citizens, they will also require an additional 14 days of quarantine upon arrival in their country of origin.
A negative COVID-19 test following this quarantine will be required before being allowed to travel to their final destination.
We expect to receive confirmation of the exact numbers of those traveling on these charter flights after the flights have departed,
…the company said.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, the disembark process for those individuals who are not taking government repatriation flights will start today.
The disembark process will be undertaken over several consecutive days, since they will be tested, and the testing and results require two to three days to complete.
A certificate that indicates a negative COVID-19 test result is expected to be granted by Japanese health authorities to exit the ship.
Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises president is back in Japan with other members of her team supporting our response operations and preparing for the disembarkation of our guests.
Working in coordination with the Japanese Ministry of Health, Princess Cruises will be monitoring the progress of guests who have contracted coronavirus and will be offering travel assistance to these individuals upon their recovery (and delivery of a heath certificate by Japanese health authorities).
Because of the extraordinary circumstances onboard Diamond Princess, the company is refunding the full cruise fare for all guests including air travel, hotel, ground transportation, pre-paid shore excursions, gratuities and other items.
Princess Cruises will also provide guests with a future cruise credit equal to the cruise fare paid for the voyage.
The cruise line first reported on February 4 about ten passengers that had been positively tested for Coronavirus. Then, on February 6, the company informed of 41 additional passengers infected.
On 15 February, hundreds of Americans have been flown out of Japan after leaving the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship, while another 70 people on board tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of 355.
