More than 200 Australians stranded on a quarantined cruise ship in Japan will be flown back to Australia this week - but will be sent into a further two week quarantine in Darwin. 9News
The AUSMAT team are flying out this evening and aim to leave Japan with the 209 Australians on Wednesday.The Prime Minister said Darwin was chosen due to the proximity to hospitals.
"We are not quite sure why there have been ongoing infections, but given there has been recent cases, we cannot be absolutely sure that any of the currently well people on the ship who are coming home on Wednesday are not carrying the virus.The decision was made after Australian infectious disease experts flew to Yokohama, to assess the situation on board the ship, where passengers were mainly confined to their cabins.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne, said more than 20 Australians who have contracted the virus have been treated in Japanese hospitals. Last week, a Melbourne woman made an emotional plea for the Australian government to bring her home after being stranded in Japan with the virus. Speaking from her hospital bed to 9News, the woman, known only as Bianca, held back tears as she begged for Australian authorities to give her answers on when she could return home.The family-of-four were then forced to disembark the ship and be quarantined in hospital two hours from the port of Yokohama.
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