More than 300 Hong Kong passengers on the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess will be sent to a newly-built public housing estate for quarantine when they arrive in the city from Japan, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said at a news conference.
The government is sending aircraft to bring back its residents, after which they will have to do a further 14-day quarantine. They are among some 3,700 passengers and crew on the cruise ship, owned by Carnival Corp., which has been quarantined in Yokohama since Feb 3.
The coronavirus has killed more than 1,800 people across the border in mainland China and one of 60 patients in Hong Kong.
Anger has been brewing over Lam’s handling of the crisis, with critics calling on her to seal off all borders with mainland China and some medical workers going on strike.
Some residents have protested against the installation of quarantine facilities near residential areas, but Lam said at the presser such facilities were essential to stem the spread of the virus.