US is to evacuate 428 Americans from Diamond Princess cruise ship and put them in 14-day quarantine at California Air Force base
The US is to evacuate 428 Americans who have been trapped on board a cruise in Japan after 218 passengers and crew were struck by the coronavirus.
Two State Department planes will be dispatched to repatriate the Americans and their families and the evacuees will then be screened at Travis Air Force Base in Sacramento, in California.
CDC officials have said that some will be forced to undergo a mandatory quarantine, which will most likely last 14 days.
The cruise ship initially had 3,700 passengers and crew on board and was put under a two quarantine on February 5 – during which time the number of cases on board has rise to 218.