Virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship crew to start disembarking

TOKYO. KAZINFORM - Crew members aboard the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship that was quarantined in the Japanese port of Yokohama due to the outbreak of a new coronavirus, will start disembarking later Thursday, the government said, Kyodo reports.

The disembarkation of about 240 crew members, including many foreign nationals, is expected to last several days, according to the health ministry.

They will stay at the National Tax College in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo for further monitoring by doctors, and can leave the facility if testing negative for the virus, the ministry said.

The cruise ship was carrying 3,700 passengers and crew from 56 countries and regions when it arrived in Yokohama this month. Most of the passengers disembarked last week and some crew members left Japan with the help of their governments.

Japan has confirmed nearly 900 coronavirus infections, with most linked to the quarantined ship.

The quarantine began Feb. 3 after the vessel had made stops in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Taiwan, as well as Japan's southernmost island prefecture of Okinawa.