Healthy passengers began disembarking from the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess Wednesday after 14 days of quarantine, it has been confirmed.
"The Japanese government intends to start the disembarkation process from the Diamond Princess on 19 February," the US embassy in Tokyo said in a statement.
"We understand that not all passengers will be allowed to disembark at once and it is possible that disembarkation will take place over a number of days."
It added that a certificate that indicates a negative Covid-19 test result is expected to be granted by Japanese health authorities to exit the ship, Princes Cruises confirmed.
About 500 people who tested negative and who are not showing any symptoms were expected to disembark on Wednesday, reported the BBC.
Those who have tested negative but were in cabins with infected people will have to remain on board for additional quarantine.
Princess Cruises also confirmed that Canada, Australia and Hong Kong were coordinating the collection and transport of their respective citizens – both guests and crew – via charter flights today.
Passengers from those nations will also require an additional 14 days of quarantine upon arrival in their country of origin.
“We expect to receive confirmation of the exact numbers of those traveling on these charter flights after the flights have departed,” Prince Cruises said.
US passengers placed on Homeland Security watch list
The US embassy in Tokyo said in a statement that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had concluded that despite efforts of quarantine there was a “high risk” that passengers on board the cruise ship have been exposed to Covid-19.
“We commend the extraordinary efforts by the Government of Japan to institute quarantine measures onboard the Diamond Princess,” the CDC said in a statement.
“While the quarantine potentially conferred a significant public health benefit in slowing transmission, CDC’s assessment is that it may not have been sufficient to prevent transmission among individuals on the ship.”
The CDC said it believes the rate of new infections on board, especially among those without symptoms, represents an “ongoing risk”.
“Therefore, to protect the health of the American public, all passengers and crew of the ship have been placed under travel restrictions, preventing them from returning to the US for at least 14 days after they had left the Diamond Princess,” it said.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), at the request of the CDC, has placed the names of those US citizens still aboard the Diamond Princess on a federal list that will temporarily restrict their ability to "travel by commercial aircraft into, outbound from, or within the US".
Currently, there are said to be more than 100 US citizens still on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship or in hospitals in Japan.
After disembarkation, these passengers and crew will be required to wait 14 days without having symptoms or a positive coronavirus test result before they are permitted to board flights to the US.
