by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:20 AM ET, Wed February 19, 2020
Over 300 American travelers who were quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship have been sent to military bases in the United States to undergo more treatment for the coronavirus.
According to The Associated Press, the United States Department of State arranged for the evacuation of passengers on the Princess Cruises vessel and sent them to military bases in California and Texas via overnight charter flights from Japan that departed Sunday.
Japanese troops helped transport 340 of the U.S. passengers on 14 buses from the port in Yokohama to Tokyo's Haneda airport, including 14 people who tested positive for coronavirus. The travelers were then flown to Travis Air Force Base in Northern California and Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
Health officials in the U.S. said the impacted cruise passengers would remain at the bases for an additional two weeks as they're quarantined to avoid the spread of the viral infection. The travelers infected with the virus were also kept isolated from other passengers on the flights.
The U.S. State and Health and Human Services said the evacuations were organized due to the high risk of exposure for passengers on the Diamond Princess. In total, the vessel had 454 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
Some Americans chose to stay on the ship and finish the quarantine onboard instead of flying to the U.S and undergoing a second 14-day quarantine.
Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Italy were planning similar rescue flights for passengers.
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