Coronavirus: Some Diamond Princess crew members to be quarantined in Japan; World Dream to dry dock

After weeks in coronavirus quarantine that was meant to end on Feb. 19, Princess Cruises' Diamond Princess cruise ship has officially disembarked all guests, the cruise line confirmed Thursday.

According to a statement provided by spokesperson Negin Kamali, all guests had disembarked by Thursday and there were fewer than 500 remaining crew members on board. There were originally 3,711 quarantined people on board; 1,045 were crew members. Some are waiting to be taken home on charter flights and some will be moved to a quarantine on land.

"For those team members who will not depart by government charter flights, we have finalized plans with the Japan Ministry of Health for a quarantine shoreside facility in Japan," the cruise line said in the statement.

Princess Cruises has hired Australia-based company Aspen Medical to provide care to its team members who will be quarantined in Japan. The Japan Ministry of Health will direct Aspen Medical on care.

The second quarantine is being required by the health ministry, the cruise line said, "out of an abundance of caution, to ensure the health and well-being of each team member."

Four passengers who had been aboard the coronavirus-quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship have died. The first three were in their 80s and Japanese; one died of pneumonia, and two died after testing positive for coronavirus. There has not been information released on the fourth.

As of Thursday, there were at least 705 confirmed cases of coronavirus that stemmed from the Diamond Princess, one of the highest concentrations outside of mainland China.

Two groups of American travelers who were stuck on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship remain in limbo: One that's under quarantine at U.S. military bases in California and Texas and a medical facility in Nebraska after taking a charter flight home ahead of the official quarantine end and another that's still in Japan, prohibited from returning home for two weeks.

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World Dream to enter dry dock; crew to go home

Dream Cruises is using the situation that has emerged with coronavirus to enter its ship, World Dream, into dry dock, which means the ship will rest out of the water to be worked on.

Passengers aboard the World Dream cruise ship disembarked Feb. 9 at Hong Kong's Kai Tek Cruise Terminal after tests revealed no one on board had coronavirus.

The ship was under quarantine for several days near Hong Kong, and everyone aboard was tested after three people who were on the ship from Jan. 19 to Jan. 24 tested positive for coronavirus, according to a Feb. 3 letter to guests from Dream Cruises, which operates the ship.

As a result, Taiwan’s government blocked the ship’s port of call in Kaohsiung and forced its return to Hong Kong Feb. 5. There were roughly 3,700 people aboard; 1,820 of them were crew members.

Most crew members will be allowed to return home. Currently on board are crew members from Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Northern Europe, the cruise line said in a statement provided by spokesperson Edith Poon on Thursday.

Dream Cruises is working with local authorities on disembarkation of those crew members and to comply with local travel restrictions.

World Dream operations will be suspended until further notice, according to the cruise line.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: Diamond Princess cruise crew to be quarantined in Japan