HONG KONG - The Hong Kong government confirmed late on Tuesday that more SAR residents stranded aboard a cruise ship in Japan have been infected with the novel coronavirus - bringing the tally to 50.
As of Tuesday, 542 of the 3,700 passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked off Yokohama had been confirmed to be infected with the disease.
The special administrative region government has sent two teams led by senior officials to Japan to evacuate Hong Kong residents on the liner. Of the 352 Hong Kong people aboard the vessel, those who have no symptoms will board two flights chartered by the government and fly home on Thursday.
Director of Immigration Erick Tsang Kwok-wai said the final number of Hong Kong residents who can fly home remains unknown as the medical checks are still being conducted.
Those who have pneumonic symptoms will not be allowed to board the flights, nor will those who have had close contact with confirmed or suspected patients.
Passengers returning Hong Kong will be placed in a quarantine center for 14 days, despite that fact they have been quarantined for over 11 days on the ship.
