Guests on board Diamond Princess will shortly be allowed to disembark from the ship to complete their quarantine period on shore, Princess Cruises has announced.

A Princess Cruises spokesperson said: “Princess Cruises has been informed that over the next several days, Japanese health officials are planning a voluntary disembarkation of guests to complete their quarantine period at a shoreside facility.

“From the information available it is our understanding that this will be a phased approach, with the most medically vulnerable guests in the first phase, including older adults with pre-existing health conditions.

“According to officials, guests in the first group will be tested for the 2019 novel coronavirus. If the test is positive, they will be transported to a local hospital for further evaluation and isolation. If the test is negative, they will be given the option to leave the ship and be transported to a quarantine housing facility.

“These are the details provided by health officials about the temporary facilities:

-The housing facility includes individual rooms and individual bathrooms
-There are no clinics at these facilities. Prescription medication will be provided, but medical care will require transport to a hospital or clinic.
-The food available will not accommodate dietary preferences but will accommodate certain medical conditions.  The meals provided will be Japanese bento-style boxes. No Western meals will be available.

“Princess Cruises confirmed that all guests on Diamond Princess remain welcome to stay on board through to the end of the quarantine period.

Princess Cruises also confirmed 44 new positive cases of coronavirus on board Diamond Princess in its latest announcement, bringing the total to 219.

Guests are currently due to leave quarantine on 19 February.

As of Thursday, the number of cases on Diamond Princess has been raised to 219, making it the largest outbreak outside of China.

The death toll for coronavirus, which has now been officially named Covid-19 by the World Health Organisation, reached 1,355 while the number of infected people rose to nearly 60,000.

At least 25 countries have confirmed cases, with nine in the UK including one case in London. Yesterday (13 February) Carnival Corporation, which owns Princess Cruises, announced that it expected its financial results to be impacted by the virus.

For the latest information and updates on coronavirus, visit the FOC website.