British families in coronavirus quarantine set to head to Merseyside have been warned to stay on board a quarantined cruise ship in Japan.
It was announced yesterday, February 19, that a new wave of up to 78 British nationals who are currently stuck on a Japanese cruise ship following an outbreak of coronavirus will be quarantined in Arrowe Park Hospital.
However, a statement issued by the Foreign Office, has warned those on board that they may struggle to board a planned evacuation flight to Merseyside if they leave the ship.
It is understood those who get off the ship, may encounter administrative or logistical problems that prevent them from boarding the flight back to the UK, the BBC reports.
The specially chartered flight is expected to take off later this week.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Foreign Office said it is planning an evacuation flight from Tokyo to the UK "as soon as possible".
The statement said: "We hope the flight will be later this week, subject to permissions from the Japanese authorities.
"However there is a chance that people who disembark will not be able to join the evacuation flight.
"We have the utmost concern for the affected Britons and strongly encourage them to register for the evacuation flight."
Staff at Arrowe Park Hospital had been told they could move back into an accommodation block which had already been used to quarantine 93 Brits evacuated from the coronavirus epicentre in Wuhan, China.
However an internal email from Arrowe Park chief executive Janelle Holmes, leaked to the ECHO, apologised for the "change of plan" and announced a new tranche of evacuees is due in the coming days.
The new evacuees are among around 3,700 passengers on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which had been kept under quarantine off the dock of Yokohama, Japan.
Around 690 people on the ship had been infected with the virus.
The email says: "As you may have seen in the press, 78 British nationals are currently quarantined on board a cruise ship in Japan and the UK Foreign Office has been working to organise a flight back to the UK to repatriate them.
"Following the successful management of two previous groups of repatriated British citizens, from Wuhan in China, Arrowe Park has been asked to host the Britons from Japan and look after them throughout their quarantine period.
Are you one of the 78 evacuees? Contact Jonathan Humphries on jonathan.humphries@reachplc.com or 0151 330 5031
"We are still waiting for final confirmation of how many will be joining us but we wanted you to be aware of the situation as soon as we could.
"Everyone being repatriated will be assessed before boarding the plane in Japan, monitored during the flight and will continue to be monitored after landing in the UK.
"No one showing symptoms of COVID-19 will board the plane in Japan. If anyone develops symptoms during the flight, they will be assessed and transferred to a suitable NHS hospital on landing in the UK.
"I am aware we had only recently told you we were in the process of supporting the staff displaced from the accommodation block to move back in, and I want to apologise to you for this change of plan so soon after that communication...
"As I’m sure you can appreciate, the response to this outbreak has required everyone respond quickly to an evolving situation.
"We want to express our gratitude to those affected and apologise for the ongoing inconvenience but thank you for your continued support.
"I remain committed to ensuring you are all kept well informed, and I want to again assure you, that my door, and that of the rest of the executive team here, are open to you, should you have any questions. "
The Department of Health said the Foreign Office were working to arrange a flight for the British nationals as soon as possible and added: "There is no risk to the public."
NHS Chief Executive Simon Stevens said: "As people from the Diamond Princess arrive from Japan they will be offered expert support and supervision back here from the NHS.
"These are demanding and unusual circumstances, so we're all very grateful to the exceptional NHS teams working at Arrowe Park and their wider partners, who are once again stepping-up to look after this new group of quarantined guests."
All the previous 93 patients were released with a clean bill of health after staying in the accommodation block for 14 days.
