We’re home! Joy of UK corona cruise evacuees
THE British travellers who had been quarantined on a cruise ship by the coronavirus arrived back in Britain yesterday – indicating with hand signals that they were OK.
Still wearing their masks, the evacuees also made love-heart signs as they were bussed to isolation centres.
After landing at Boscombe Down airfield in Wiltshire, the 32 British and European passengers boarded three coaches, along with medical professionals wearing white hazmat suits. They will now spend another 14 days in quarantine on the Wirral.
The passengers had spent two weeks trapped on the virus-riddled Diamond Princess cruise liner off the coast of Japan, and had tested negative for Covid-19 before they were flown back to Britain yesterday.
Meanwhile, fears are growing for one British couple who contracted coronavirus on the ship.
David and Sally Abel, who had posted video updates from the vessel, have both developed pneumonia and are being treated in a Japanese hospital that their son Steve claimed was ‘like a prison’.
The ship’s owner Carnival Cruises, which accounts for half the world’s £35billion-a-year cruise industry, is warning the outbreak will cost it millions. Carnival has cancelled China sailings on all of its Costa Cruises ships until mid-March, while other vessels have been rerouted to avoid Chinese ports.
The company warned costs will soar to up to £264 million if it has to cancel all of its Asia operations until the end of April. And Norwegian Cruise Line, with ten per cent of global capacity, has cancelled or amended 40 sailings until late summer at a cost of £123million. Airlines also predict losses of £23billion this year after cancelling 100,000 flights in the past month because of the virus.
The outbreak has also led to 300,000 fewer shipping containers leaving China each week, with experts warning this will lead to a worldwide shortage in goods if the outbreak cannot be contained soon.
Meat supplies are spoiling at sea, with ships unable to dock in Chinese ports as berths are full, while Jaguar Land Rover has even resorted to flying out Chinese-made car parts in suitcases.
In England, NHS supply chain bosses are rationing face masks after a run of orders from hospitals. An official note states that excessive and multiple orders may be cancelled.
So far the global epidemic has killed 2,348 people and infected 76,392. Yesterday, South Korea reported that new cases in the country had more than doubled in one day, raising the total to 433.
And officials in Italy last night confirmed the first fatalities of Europeans from the virus, after two pensioners died. Neither had travelled to China, adding to fears the virus could spiral out of control.
Italian premier Giuseppe Conte said his government was maintaining ‘an extremely high level of precaution’ after 45 people were diagnosed with the virus. Italian authorities placed 50,000 people in lockdown in ten towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions.