Thanks to flights chartered by Italy and co-financed by the EU under its Civil Protection Mechanism, the repatriation of EU citizens who were on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan can begin, the European Commission announced on Wednesday 19 February.
The first Italian aircraft, carrying an advanced medical team, departed on the same day for Yokohama, where the ship had been docked for quarantine since the beginning of the month, after one passenger tested positive for COVID-19. A second plane was scheduled to leave Tuesday night for Japan.
The Italian medical team will assess the health of the passengers, and only those who have tested negative for the COVID-19 virus or who show no symptoms of the disease will be allowed to board the flight. The final number of passengers and their nationalities will be known in the coming days, the Commission said. After their arrival in Europe, passengers will begin a new quarantine period organised and controlled by each Member State.
In a press release, the Commissioner for Crisis Management “thanks the Italian authorities and all the flight crew for helping bring EU citizens safely back home”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)