Seoul has not addressed so far the possibility of sending military planes to evacuate South Korean nationals from the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship, docked near Japan's Yokohama port since February 3, an official from the South Korean Defense Ministry said on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th February, 2020) Seoul has not addressed so far the possibility of sending military planes to evacuate South Korean nationals from the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship, docked near Japan's Yokohama port since February 3, an official from the South Korean Defense Ministry said on Monday.
Earlier on Monday, the national government said that it would evacuate its citizens from the cruise liner. Upon their arrival in South Korea, they will be put under a 14-day quarantine.
"It is an issue to be discussed with related government agencies," the ministry official said at a briefing, as quoted by the country's Yonhap news agency when asked whether the ministry will send military aircraft to evacuate its citizens from the ship.
The Diamond Princess cruise liner was placed under quarantine after a passenger who left the vessel in Hong Kong tested positive for the novel coronavirus, dubbed COVID-19. A total of 3,711 passengers and crew are aboard the vessel, and so far, 355 people have tested positive for the virus.
COVID-19 was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan last December and has since spread to more than 25 countries. The virus has already resulted in 1,775 fatalities, with over 70,000 people having been infected.
