Canada will evacuate 213 citizens from the Diamond Princess ship

Canada will evacuate 213 of its citizens from the quarantined Diamond Princess ship – but will leave the 43 who’ve been diagnosed with coronavirus behind in Japan

• 256 Canadians are stuck onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan which has been under quarantine since February 5
• The government is sending a plane to evacuate 213 citizens on Thursday night
• The 43 Canadians who’ve been diagnosed with coronavirus will remain in Japan for treatment
• Evacuees will first undergo health screenings at Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Ontario
• They will then be transferred NAV Canada Training Institute in Cornwall, Ontario, for a 14-day quarantine period 

The Canadian government is planning to evacuate its citizens stuck onboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship off Yokohama, Japan.

Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Wednesday that the plane is on its way and the evacuation will begin on Thursday evening. 

‘The aircraft the government has chartered is currently in Tokyo,’ Champagne told reporters in Ottawa.

‘We will begin pre-flight screening and disembarkation tomorrow evening local time.’

It comes on the heels of news that 43 of the 256 Canadians onboard the cruise ship, have tested positive for coronavirus.

This is a 186 percent spike from Saturday’s figures, which only showed 15 Canadians testing positive for the disease.   

There are currently 256 Canadians are stuck onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship (pictured) in Japan which has been under quarantine since February 5

The Canadian government says it spending a plane to evacuate 213 citizens on Thursday night, while the 43 infected Canadians will remain in Japan

Both Champagne and Global Affairs Canada, the government’s diplomatic relations oversight group, said those who are ill will not be allowed on the flights.

Any Canadians that have tested positive for coronavirus will be treated in Japan. 

This is in contrast with the US whose government evacuated more than 300 Americans, including 14 of whom tested positive for coronavirus, on Sunday.

Despite the US earlier saying no infected passenger would be allowed to leave, some people who tested positive were still allowed to board the planes because they did not have symptoms.  

According to the Montreal Gazette, the evacuated Canadians will first land at Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Ontario where they will undergo physical and health screenings.  

Afterwards, they will be transferred to the NAV Canada Training Institute in Cornwall – 175 miles away – for a 14-day quarantine period. 

Both Canadian citizens and permanent residents are eligible for the flight. If there is room, non-citizen immediate family members of Canadians and permanent residents of the country will be allowed onboard the plane,

Global Affairs Canada said it would ensure that the 43 Canadians who will stay in Japan receive adequate medical care.

‘The Canadian embassy is working…to provide full possible consular support – such as hospital visits and critical communications with family, insurance companies and health care providers – to the Canadian passengers who are on board and in local hospitals,’ spokesperson Barbara Harvey said in a statement.

‘We will continue to provide full support to those Canadians who will remain in Japan following the plane’s departure.’

The evacuees will undergo a 14-day quarantine at NAV Canada Training Institute in Cornwall, Ontario. Pictured: American passengers evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship 

 

Initially with 3,700 passengers and crew, the Diamond Princess cruise liner has been under quarantine since February 5.

On Wednesday, even as some passengers rolled their luggage off the ship, Japanese authorities announced 79 new cases had been discovered on board.

This brings the total number of cases to 621, well more than half of the known cases outside mainland China.

With the rate of new infections on the ship rising, health experts fear more passengers will be infected and spread the virus to others who are evacuating.

There are still more than 100 US citizens onboard the Diamond Princess or in hospitals in Japan.

However, the US is not sending another evacuation flight. The passengers will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine period before being permitted to board flights to the US.   

Worldwide, more than 75,100 people have been infected with coronavirus and more than 2,000 people have died.  

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