Nine foreign passengers on board a cruise ship docked at Fremantle Port have been evacuated and taken to a WA hospital for assessment and treatment for coronavirus.

Key points: Premier Mark McGowan had asked the Commonwealth to house the patients

Premier Mark McGowan had asked the Commonwealth to house the patients But he was unable to secure a Defence facility for that purpose

But he was unable to secure a Defence facility for that purpose Healthy passengers are expected to be flown to Europe this weekend

Seven of the passengers on board the MV Artania have already tested positive to COVID-19, while the other two are suspected cases.

Premier Mark McGowan had this week urged the Commonwealth to find a secure defence facility to house the patients, but today he conceded that could not be done.

Mr McGowan said the patients were in "unused beds", but did not provide details about which hospital they had been taken to.

"They will then be transferred to secure WA Police Academy accommodation at Joondalup, where they will be quarantined in a secure facility," he said.

"We were unable to secure a Commonwealth facility for this purpose.

"Once these COVID passengers have recovered they will then go back home to Europe."

The Artania cruise ship has seven confirmed cases of COVID-19 on board. ( ABC News: Andrew O'Connor )

WA's Health Minister, Roger Cook, said it was important to remove the coronavirus patients from the cruise ship.

"These nine passengers are being taken off as a public health measure to try to limit further spread of the disease on the vessel," Mr Cook said.

The ship had earlier been allowed to dock at Fremantle after two life-threatening medical emergencies on board the vessel, but authorities said these cases were not related to COVID-19.

Passengers to be returned to Germany

The cruise ship operator, German-based Phoenix, has issued a statement saying specially chartered flights would take the remaining passengers from Perth to Frankfurt.

Passengers could only take one item of luggage and those who were not German permanent residents would need to have an onward journey from Frankfurt to their home country guaranteed.

"In order to be able to organise this, we are in contact with the respective embassies or consulates," the statement said.

Premier Mark McGowan has said the Artania was a Commonwealth responsibility. ( ABC News: Marcus Alborn )

None of the 800 passengers or 500 crew on board are Australian, with the majority German, but many understood to be from Austria and Switzerland as well.

The company said passengers from Austria and Switzerland would also be allowed on the charter flights, as long as they had confirmed onward connections to their home countries.

Stay up-to-date on the coronavirus outbreak Download the ABC News app and subscribe to our range of news alerts for the latest on how the pandemic is impacting the world

Cruise ship considered 'infected'

WA Health officials were on board the ship yesterday testing and assessing people.

In addition to the seven who tested positive, WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said a further two passengers who were German citizens had tested positive, but they had disembarked the ship at other Australian ports and had subsequently left the country.

"That then indicates to us that we should treat the Artania as a ship that is infected with COVID," Commissioner Dawson said.

All remaining passengers, including those who are positive to COVID-19, are in self-isolation on the vessel.

Cruise passengers a large proportion of WA cases

Western Australia today recorded another 24 cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number diagnosed in the state to 255.

WA COVID-19 snapshot Confirmed cases so far: 662

Confirmed cases so far: 662 Recovered: 650

Recovered: 650 Deaths: 9

Deaths: 9 Total tests: 395,402 Latest information from the WA Health Department





Of those, 62 were cruise ship passengers.

WA and other states and territories are grappling with what to do about cruise ships seeking harbour as ports around the globe close to foreign nationals.

Another ship, the MSC Magnifica, was due to refuel in Fremantle and then go on to Dubai, but Dubai indicated they would not be allowed to dock.

The ship then anchored off the WA coast, with the WA Government saying it would not let anyone disembark as there were no Australians aboard.

Vasco Da Gama docks at Fremantle

A second cruise ship has docked at Fremantle Port as its passengers prepare to be quarantined on Rottnest Island.

The Vasco Da Gama was scheduled to dock on Monday, but its arrival was brought forward to allow a number of New Zealand passengers to catch a flight home tomorrow night.

Hundreds of people waved and cheered from the top deck of the cruise liner as it pulled into the port.

Passengers on deck as the Vasco Da Gama pulls into Fremantle. ( ABC News: Robert Koenig-Luck )

The 800 Australians on board will be transferred to Rottnest Island or hotels in the city on Sunday to wait out their two-week isolation period.

Those who are not from WA will then be able to fly to their home states, where they will face a further two weeks in isolation.

Bob, a Queensland passenger on board the cruise ship, said the lack of concrete information had been extremely frustrating.

"I must say, I had a sense of relief when the old ship hit the dock because we've been getting conflicting stories, very conflicting, over the last week," he said.

"I know it's darn hard for the Government under the circumstances, but yeah, we're still in limbo. I think it will be resolved."