Nightmare nears end in Japan for Canadians stuck on virus-stricken ship, but quarantine awaits in Ontario
Posted February 20, 2020 5:26 am.
YOKOHAMA, Japan (NEWS 1130) – They’ve spent more than two weeks on a COVID-19-plagued cruise ship off the shores of Japan but Canadians who’ve been in quarantine are finally coming home.
Dozens of Canadians — including a couple from Surrey — are being screened before hopping on a chartered flight that’s set to take-off Thursday morning pacific time.
Anyone found to have the COVID-19 coronavirus during screening will stay in Japan for treatment, while those who are healthy and make it home will be in for another quarantine once back on Canadian soil.
Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the plane will take evacuees to a military base in Trenton, Ontario, where a few hundred Canadians, who were on chartered evacuation flights from Wuhan, China earlier this month, are nearing the end of their two-week quarantine.
“In Trenton, passengers will be assessed and transported to the Nav Canada training institute in Cornwall in Ontario to undergo a further 14 day quarantine period,” the minister said on Wednesday.
Update on #DiamondPrincess evacuation:
The plane is back en route to Tokyo following some unforeseen technical issues in departing from Europe. It will land in Tokyo where passengers will be screened before boarding as planned. More information to follow as it becomes available.
— François-Philippe Champagne (FPC) (@FP_Champagne) February 18, 2020
The plane from Japan is expected to touch down in Canada by Friday.
Champagne noted any Canadians who have already left the Diamond Princess cruise ship and returned to Canada on their own will also have to undergo a quarantine.
“Canadians seeking to return to Canada by commercial means will be subject to the Quarantine Act upon their return to Canada, in line with the determination that has been made by the Public Health Agency of Canada,” he said.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Health Minister has said there’s a chance those who have tested negative for the virus and show no symptoms while at the centre in Cornwall could be released from quarantine early. That, she added, would be at the discretion of Canada’s top public-health doctor.
More than 620 passengers and crew members on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive for the new variation of the coronavirus, including close to 50 Canadians.
COVID-19 has infected thousands of people world-wide and killed hundreds, mainly in China.
Two people in their 80s who contracted the virus while on board the ship recently died after disembarking, becoming the first fatalities from the outbreak on the vessel.
-With files from The Canadian Press