Two State Department planes will be dispatched to airlift the stranded citizens and their families to Travis Air Force Base in Sacramento, California.
Once on US soil, they will undergo a further 14 days of quarantine, sparking ‘apprehension’ among passengers who have been under lock-down aboard the Diamond Princess since February 5.
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The cruise ship initially had 3,700 passengers and crew, but during its quarantine in Yokahama some have been carted off the liner to be treated for the deadly infection.
The rescue mission comes as the number of confirmed cases on the ship jumped 67 on Saturday, bringing the total number of diagnoses to 285.
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