Aust passengers on quarantined cruise ship refuse evacuation offer

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed 15 Australian passengers on board the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship have refused an offer to be flown home. Mr Morrison said the refusal was largely because they wanted to remain with family members who contracted coronavirus and were taken to Japanese medical facilities. Preparations to evacuate about 170 Australians stranded on the cruise ship in Japan are underway as it was revealed another 88 coronavirus cases were confirmed overnight. The Qantas evacuation flight is expected to arrive in Darwin around 8:30 on Thursday morning where the passengers will be taken to Howard Springs workers’ accommodation village for a 14 day quarantine period. Image: Getty Via news.com.au — Australia’s #1 news site https://www.news.com.au