Coronavirus dilemma ends Diamond Princess cruise hell

Australians on the Diamond Princess are weighing whether to take an evacuation flight to a Darwin quarantine camp.

Australian passengers on the ­coronavirus-struck Diamond Princess cruise ship are weighing whether to take an evacuation flight to a Darwin quarantine camp on Wednesday or stay out of the country for another 14 days as Japan confirmed a further 99 cases on board.

More than 200 Australians on the ship off the coast of Yokohama will be eligible for a no-cost Qantas flight on Wednesday, when they will be taken to the Howard Springs centre. So far 454 people on board have tested positive for COVID-19, including 22 Australians who are now in hospitals.

America began evacuations of its citizens from the ship early on Friday.

As Australians on board ­Diamond Princess prepared to leave, the Morrison government revealed 49 Australians on the cruise ship Westerdam in Cambodia will also have to be isolated when they return home after a US woman tested positive to the virus.

Scott Morrison warned that any passengers on the Diamond Princess would be barred for 14 days from entering Australia if they did not take up the evacuation offer.

“We recommend they take up the option of being on that flight being provided for by the Australian government,” he said. “It will make sure their health and wellbeing is taken care of on their return to Australia. Then they can return home to friends and family as soon as possible after that.”

But Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton acknowledged that Australians stranded on the cruise ship who choose to board the Qantas evacuation flight could contract coronavirus onboard the plane.

Australia’s Australia’s ambassador to Japan, Richard Court, said most Australians onboard the ship have so far indicated they will take the evacuation flight.

“We’re not getting too many iffy people,” Mr Court told ABC Radio National.

Speaking to Channel 9 on Tuesday, Mr Dutton said: “Some people (boarding the evacuation flight) could be carriers and they could be in that incubation stage.”

“That’s why we have taken the difficult decision, because I know these people want to get back home to see their families as quickly as possible, to make sure that we can isolate these people in much better arrangements than they’ve had in confined spaces on the vessel,” Mr Dutton said.

“But we need to do that. It’s been effective on both Christmas Island and in Darwin and we want to make sure, particularly given this is a group where older Australians, people over 70, over 80 years of age make up this cohort that we are bringing home, and we want to make sure that they’re healthy and safe and that they’re not spreading the virus to their families.”

Mr Dutton said the government wants to get Australians off the cruise ship as quickly as possible. “We are not going to bring people on to the plane who have a confirmed case of the coronavirus. We are going to make sure that those people can receive the medical attention in the Japanese health system, that they are isolated and that gives us the best chance of making sure we don’t spread the virus when they come back to Australia.”

American citizens wave from a bus as they leave the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship at Daikoku Pier to be repatriated to the United States on Monday.

Australian passenger Vera Koslova-Fu said the evacuation flight was “too little, too late”, coming just as the stranded passengers’ quarantine period aboard the ship was about to end.

“There’s a lot of people here and we’re all discussing the ­options for leaving, and the one thing we’re all saying to each other is ‘it’s a little too late’,” she told The Australian. “Where were they 10 days ago? Don’t come at the end of our quarantine and say ‘we’ll just lock you up for another 14 days, thank you very much’.”

Ms Koslova-Fu said she was considering staying in Japan for an extra 14 days after disembarking the ship but was worried about the cost. And she is concerned that being aboard a flight with other evacuees from the ship could be more risky than being on the ship.

“I don’t think they have a very good rationale for this extra quarantine,” she said. “Because if we were all confined in one big room, not separate rooms, then yes I understand if there’s one person that’s infected, essentially you have to quarantine everyone from that date. However, since the fifth of February we have been confined to our own cabins. And the reason for the confinement is so that we’re not in a big communal environment where disease can spread. So I want to know what is the reason behind more quarantining? Why do they feel that this quarantining hasn’t been enough?”

Mr Morrison said he was frustrated the Australian passengers of the Diamond Princess, after weeks quarantined in cabins, would be forced into further isolation to stop the possible spread of coronavirus. “I understand that those who were on board will feel very frustrated about this, as will their family members … I am very frustrated about it,” he said. “But our first responsibility is that we have to protect the health and safety of Australians in Australia today.’’

Darwin has been chosen over Christmas Island as the quarantine site for the Australian passengers as it has more substantial medical facilities for the elderly Australians on the ship.

Qantas will operate the rescue mission from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, 21km from Yokohama. It is understood passengers will be bused from Yokohama to the airport where they will be quarantined from other travellers.

The same aircraft used for the Wuhan rescue flights, a Boeing 747-400, will fly non-stop to Darwin, and then return to Sydney for deep cleaning before it is used on regular commercial services.

In Phnom Penh, 39 Australians are being tested for COVID-19 after getting off the MS Westerdam, and a further 10 Australians have remained on the ship. The one confirmed case was that of an 83-year-old US woman whose disease was not detected until she had left the ship.

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said anyone on the Westerdam returning to Australia would be required to be isolated.

China’s ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, claimed on Monday his country had the epidemic “under control” and blasted the Morrison government’s travel ban on foreign nationals leaving China. “We are deeply disappointed over the restrictive measures that have been taken. As I see it, they are out of proportion,” he told Sky News.

Additional reporting: Elias Visontay, Robyn Ironside