Health Minister Vassilis Kikkilias announced the repatriation of two Greeks on board of the cruise ship Diamond Princess, currently in quarantine in Yokohama, Japan. 355 passengers and crew have been infected with the new coronavirus COVID-19.
“In cooperation with the Foreign Ministry and all relevant agencies, we are already coordinating and organizing their repatriation possibly for the next week, Kikkilias told Skai TV on Sunday.
The health minister did not reveal any other details about the two Greeks on the cruise ship. He reassured that “any compatriot who needs us, from all the four corners of the world, will be repatriated, properly, structured, organized.”
According to Greek media, the two Greeks are a Greek-American lawyer and her American husband.
In an exclusive interview with Open TV on Saturday, lawyer Catherine Codecas said that the couple opted not to board the aircraft that will transport US passengers to the United States in order not to go through the quarantine process but also to protect themselves against the virus.
However, even if they are evacuated in Greece, they will have to undergo procedures of a coronavirus-protection protocol and possibly be in 14-day quarantine, even if they are tested negative, just like the two Greeks evacuated form Wuhan last week.
Describing the quarantine conditions on Diamond Princess as “prison” Codecas told Open TV:
“You have a guard. The Japanese authorities tell us that we must do this. The health authorities got on board and started strict controls. You’re not leaving your room. This is your world for two weeks. So I’m counting down. I tell myself that another day has passed and I will be able to leave the ship.”
Her husband Mathew Smith argued that “there is no doubt that there is a sense of restraint. We have no contact with other passengers and the crew brings food and other items to our cabin wearing safety equipment.”
Codecas said that she has already started planning vacations on the Greek islands in order to see the places where her grandparents came from.
Diamond Princess with 3,700 passengers on board has been in quarantine at Yokohama Port near Tokyo since February 4, after a passenger who had already disembarked was tested positive in for COVID-19 four days earlier.
Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said on Sunday that another 70 cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed on Diamond Princess in the last 24 hours., increasing the number of infected people to 355.
Meanwhile, Canada and Hong Kong are reportedly chartering flights to evacuate their citizens and residents who are on the cruise ship.
Ottawa says 15 Canadians on board the ship are infected with the coronavirus. There were 255 on the vessel at the beginning of February. It’s not clear how many may have already left the vessel for treatment.
The Hong Kong government says 11 of the roughly 330 residents of the region confined to the vessel are infected.
All evacuees are to be quarantined for 14 days after they’re airlifted out of Japan.
