A bus with a driver (left) wearing protective gear departs from the dockside next to the Diamond Princess cruise ship at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama port on Feb 16, 2020. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

MACAO - The five Macao residents stranded on the Diamond Princess cruise ship will return from Japan by a chartered flight arranged by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government, Macao's epidemic response center said on Tuesday.

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The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre of the Macao SAR government said it received the full support and assistance of the Hong Kong SAR government which will bring back its residents on board the ship, and has obtained the consent of the Macao residents on board.

The center added that among those five Macao residents, three of them simultaneously hold Macao and Hong Kong resident identification cards. They will fly back to Hong Kong on a chartered flight, and two of those holding both Hong Kong and Macao ID cards plan to stay in Hong Kong, and the other three will return to Macao.

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Macao's Health Bureau and Tourism Crisis Management Office have sent staff to Japan to help their return. They are expected to leave on Wednesday and will be placed under medical observation and quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Macao.