Cruise ship Diamond Princess off the shore of Yokohama. Photo / AP
Cruise ship Diamond Princess off the shore of Yokohama. Photo / AP
British passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise liner, where hundreds have tested positive for Coronavirus, are urging the UK government to evacuate them after the US announced it would move its citizens off the ship.
The US embassy in Tokyo sent a letter on board telling their citizens that a chartered plane would arrive this evening in Japan and recommended they disembarked "out of an abundance of caution" and return home.
They are expected to undergo a further quarantine of 14 days upon arrival at a US military base in California.
But that has left the 78 Britons on board furious at the prospect of being left on the Diamond Princess to endure their continued quarantine. Speaking via a live link from the ship, David Abel, 74, said: "All us Brits are going to have to do our own thing. It's wonderful how the Americans are going to come and take them home ... but nothing is happening for UK passengers.
"We feel that we've been completely overlooked, neglected, forgotten. Our greatest fear is that we'll be split up." His wife Sally said: "Everything's very quiet with the UK. Nobody's actually talking to us."
The couple from Oxfordshire said they had no official communication from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, beyond two instances from Phil Madden, the UK ambassador to Japan.
"But he's not telling us what he'll do for us," said Abel.
It is understood the UK Government is examining possible evacuation and repatriation options, including joining flights arranged by other countries, and is contacting British passengers and crew on the ship.
Cruise ship Diamond Princess off the shore of Yokohama. Photo / AP
An FCO spokesman said: "We are urgently speaking to authorities in Japan and the UK. We are working around the clock to ensure the welfare of the British nationals on board."
By yesterday, an additional 67 people on the cruise ship had tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total to 285 people infected out of 3500 passengers and crew. According to Japanese health officials, those testing positive were transferred to hospital.
At least three Britons tested positive and were receiving treatment.
Coronavirus, which originated in central China, has infected more than 67,000 people globally, the vast bulk of them in China, killing 1526. The largest number of cases outside China have been on the Diamond Princess. The ship was quarantined upon arrival in Yokohama, 32km south of Tokyo, on February 3, after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong before it headed for Japan was diagnosed with the virus.
Meanwhile, 1500 people on board the cruise ship Westerdam were allowed to disembark in Cambodia after five countries denied it a berth despite health screenings showing no symptoms of the virus. Passengers were welcomed ashore by Hun Sen, the prime minister, who handed them flowers.
A World Health Organisation-led joint investigation in China due to start this weekend will focus on the severity of Coronavirus and how it has spread.
And it emerged that an 80-year-old Chinese man who died from the virus in France - the first death in Europe - had flagged himself up to doctors soon after arriving in France on January 16, but they initially failed to recognise his symptoms as the Covid-19 coronavirus.
The man had been receiving treatment in the Bichat-Claude Bernard hospital, in northern Paris. His daughter was also taken to hospital but the French authorities said she was likely to make a good recovery.
The cruise ship Diamond Princess in Yokohama. Photo / AP
His death was announced by Agnès Buzyn, the French health minister. She added that there was "no cause for concern" about the condition of the other six coronavirus patients in French hospitals, including five Britons.
All were expected to make a full recovery, according to medical sources.
Another four coronavirus patients were discharged from French hospitals with a clean bill of health, Buzyn said.
The minister was due to hold a meeting with health professionals to discuss how to stem the spread of the virus. "We must prepare our health system to cope with a possible pandemic and the circulation of the virus in our country," she said.
