Bus prepared to take passengers from Diamond Princess
Bus prepared to take passengers from Diamond PrincessREUTERS

The first two Israeli passengers released from the coronavirus-ridden cruise ship docked in Yokohama Port south of Tokyo disembarked Wednesday, as the 10 other Israeli passengers waited to leave the ship.

Hundreds of people disembarked from the Diamond Princess, which has been placed under quarantine by Japanese health officials, to the Yokohama Port on Wednesday.

The passengers permitted to disembark have not been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and have shown no symptoms of the disease.

"We are happy to get out of the ship," one of the two Israelis who disembarked Wednesday said, according to Yediot Aharonot.

"We still worry about the rest of the Israelis. During the release process we went through many medical tests until we got to the bus.”

Some 3,700 people were on board the Diamond Princess when it was placed under quarantine, with more than 540 people being diagnosed with the coronavirus.

A total of 15 Israelis were on board the Diamond Princess when it was placed under quarantine, including three who later were diagnosed with coronavirus – a couple and a young woman.

The three Israelis suffering from coronavirus were evacuated from the ship to two Tokyo hospitals, and were visited by an Israeli delegation Tuesday. All three are said to be in good condition.

The 12 remaining Israelis who showed no signs of infection were cleared for return to Israel Tuesday, but only two have been evacuated from the Diamond Princess thus far. The ten other Israeli passengers are expected to disembark on Thursday.

The Israelis released from the Diamond Princess will be returned to Israel on board a private jet, flown by a foreign crew, arranged for by three insurance companies, in conjunction with the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Once they arrived back in Israel, the 12 passengers will be placed under quarantine in Sheba Medical Center, in Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, in central Israel.

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities announced that the death toll from the coronavirus epidemic jumped to 2,000, after 132 more people died in Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak.

In its daily update, the province’s health commission also reported 1,693 new cases of people infected with the virus.

With the latest figures, the total number of cases in Hubei is 61,682.