MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th March, 2020) The governments of Canada and the United Kingdom will be repatriating their citizens aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship, where multiple people have tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Canadian and British foreign ministries have announced.
"This decision was made following a request for assistance from the Government of the United States to repatriate Canadians. Given our shared border, Canada recognizes the importance of working together with the United States to limit the spread of COVID-19 within North America and beyond," Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a Sunday statement.
According to the minister, the evacuated Canadians will be taken by plane from San Francisco to Canadian Forces Base Trenton, after which they will undergo a 14-day quarantine.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom is also preparing a special flight to evacuate British citizens aboard the Grand Princess cruise liner.
A spokesperson of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said on Sunday that the UK government was actively working with the US authorities on organizing a flight from California for British citizens.
On Sunday, US media reported that the Grand Princess ship would dock in Oakland on Monday. Before disembarking, all passengers are expected to be screened for COVID-19 and those infected will be hospitalized. Crew members will be quarantined and treated aboard the ship.
There are over 3,500 people on board Grand Princess, 21 of them (19 crew and 2 guests) have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
Grant Tarling, the chief medical officer for Carnival Corporation, the parent company of Princess Cruises, told reporters in a phone briefing on Saturday that the people on board the Grand Princess who were exhibiting influenza-like symptoms had "mostly" recovered.
