Late and chaotic, US evacuates frightened Americans from ship

As the US government finally evacuated about 330 Americans from the Diamond Princess cruiseliner, its late and chaotic response had enraged US passengers who told CNN that the trip was merely “trading one ordeal for another.”

Since the beginning of quarantine, US residents on board had been asking their government and US President Donald Trump for help.

But Trump didn’t respond until February 15, when the government announced to send planes to evacuate them. The planes arrived on February 16 and departed for the US on February 17, only two days before the quarantine ended.

The decision of the US government to evacuate its residents is, on its face, “a case of a powerful government coming to the aid of its most vulnerable citizens,” but actually “has prompted anger from some exhausted passengers, who believe the move could actually influence their ability to return to normal life,” CNN reported Sunday.

At least a dozen Americans evacuated were tested positive for the virus. “US health officials apparently learned of the positive test results after those passengers boarded the buses and made a last-minute decision allowing them to board the flights,” said CNN.

“I didn’t hear a single word about that until I literally heard it on the news when we landed,” said Sarah Arana, one of the retrieved passengers.

However, NHK reported that the Americans tested positive for the coronavirus received medical inspections days ago on the ship and Japan had immediately informed the US after the results came out.