Coronavirus: U.S. To Evacuate Americans from Quarantined Cruise Ship in Japan

 A bus leaves a port where the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship is docked  Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020, in Yokohama, near Tokyo. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)  

Americans onboard a cruise ship quarantined over the deadly new coronavirus will have the option of being transferred from the vessel on Sunday, according to U.S. government.

The U.S. Department of State and agencies including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide a chartered flight to transport all American citizens on the Diamond Princess cruise ship from Japan to the United States, the American Commission in Tokyo confirmed in a statement.

The vessel has been docked at the port city of Yokohama, south of Tokyo, and those onboard quarantined for over a week after a passenger was diagnosed with the infection on February 1. The quarantine period is due to last till February 19, according to its operator Princess Cruises. It could to take between two and 14 days for symptoms of COVID-19 to appear after a person is first infected. On Wednesday, 44 new confirmed cases took the total passengers and crew to be infected on the ship to 218, the operator said. There were originally  2,666  guests and 1,045  crew on board, which has decreased because those sick have been treated in the emergency rooms.

The airbus will arrive in Japan on the evening of February 16, the email sent at 3:24 a.m. local time stated. Buses will take U.S. citizens and their belongings from the ship to the aircraft. Passengers will then be screened for symptoms of COVID-19, which include fever, feeling fatigued, a dry cough and shortness of breath. Those who are sick will be treated in Japan if they cannot board the flight. The plane will head to Travis Air Force Base in California, and some passengers will be taken to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Passengers will be told of their final destination before boarding the flight, according to the email.