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| Coronavirus: Evacuation flight for Britons on Diamond Princess takes off | Coronavirus: Evacuation flight for Britons on Diamond Princess takes off |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| A plane carrying Britons who had been trapped on a coronavirus-hit cruise ship in Japan has taken off on its way to the UK, the Foreign Office has said. | A plane carrying Britons who had been trapped on a coronavirus-hit cruise ship in Japan has taken off on its way to the UK, the Foreign Office has said. |
| Some 78 Britons were on the Diamond Princess cruise liner when it was quarantined in Yokohama 16 days ago. | Some 78 Britons were on the Diamond Princess cruise liner when it was quarantined in Yokohama 16 days ago. |
| The Foreign Office said 32 British and European passengers were onboard the evacuation flight, along with medical staff and British government officials. | The Foreign Office said 32 British and European passengers were onboard the evacuation flight, along with medical staff and British government officials. |
| The plane is due to land in the UK on Saturday, the Foreign Office added. | The plane is due to land in the UK on Saturday, the Foreign Office added. |
| The flight had previously been delayed after the British embassy said it was "logistically complicated". | |
| The group is expected to land at Boscombe Down, a Ministry of Defence base in Wiltshire, before spending 14 days in quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral - where two groups of people travelling from China have previously stayed. | The group is expected to land at Boscombe Down, a Ministry of Defence base in Wiltshire, before spending 14 days in quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral - where two groups of people travelling from China have previously stayed. |
| The Britons on the evacuation flight will have passed screening tests for the virus. | The Britons on the evacuation flight will have passed screening tests for the virus. |
| Some have already been evacuated over the last week on flights to Hong Kong, organised by the authorities there, a government source has told the BBC. | Some have already been evacuated over the last week on flights to Hong Kong, organised by the authorities there, a government source has told the BBC. |
| Others are being treated for the virus in health facilities in Japan. | Others are being treated for the virus in health facilities in Japan. |
| It is also understood that some British nationals are members of the ship's crew who could be staying on board the ship. | It is also understood that some British nationals are members of the ship's crew who could be staying on board the ship. |
| More than 620 people on board the cruise ship tested positive for the virus - the largest cluster of cases outside China. | |
| Two Japanese passengers - both in their 80s and with underlying health conditions - were confirmed to have died after contracting the virus on the Diamond Princess. | |
| The cruise liner was carrying 3,700 people when it was quarantined in Yokohama on 5 February, after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was found to have the virus. | The cruise liner was carrying 3,700 people when it was quarantined in Yokohama on 5 February, after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was found to have the virus. |
| China has reported 75,567 cases including 2,239 deaths from Covid-19, the illness brought on by coronavirus. | |
| In the UK, a total of 5,885 people have been tested for the virus, as of 14:00 GMT on Friday. Nine people have tested positive. |