FOUR of the British and Irish evacuees who landed back in the UK from Japan on Saturday have tested positive for the coronavirus.

They caught the virus on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, said England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty, and it means there are 13 confirmed cases in the UK.

The four new cases have been transferred to specialist NHS infection centres.

They had been among a group of 30 British nationals and two Irish citizens who arrived at a quarantine block at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside on Saturday.

Mr Whitty said the virus – which can cause severe lung disease – was passed on in the ship, which had been held for more than two weeks off Japan.

He said: “Four further patients in England have tested positive for Covid-19. The virus was passed on in the Diamond Princess cruise ship.”

The Department of Health said a “full infectious disease risk assessment” was conducted before Saturday’s repatriation flight and that no-one who boarded the flight had displayed any symptoms of the virus.

Honeymooner Alan Steele, who was diagnosed with Covid-19 and has since been given the all-clear, said he was “on my last nerve” after travelling for hours to get back to the UK.

Posting on Facebook, he wrote: “29 hours travelling and we are still being held up by beurocrats with clipboard. Am on my last nerve now.”

Ahead of the flight he had joked the stay in Arrowe Park might be like a holiday camp, after he and wife Wendy tested negative for the virus. He wrote: “Wendy’s test was negative so ‘Butlins the Wirral’ here we come for 14 days.”

Meanwhile, on the ship, a passenger taken to hospital after testing positive for the virus has died, becoming the third fatality from the vessel, Japan’s health ministry said.

The ministry also announced 57 more cases of infections from the ship, including 55 crew still on board and two passengers who had infected room-mates and were in a prolonged quarantine at a government facility.

Together with the new cases, 691 people have been infected on the ship, or nearly one-fifth of the vessel’s original population of 3,711.

Japan has confirmed a total of 838 cases, including four deaths from the virus, which first emerged in China, including those on the ship.

Dozens of confirmed cases that continue to be reported from the ship have prompted criticisms and concerns that Japan’s quarantine might have been inadequate.

Back in the UK, more than 100 people rescued from China who were staying at Kents Hill Park training and conference centre in Milton Keynes began to leave yesterday after their 14-day coronavirus quarantine period came to an end.

Some 118 people were discharged, said NHS England. People with backpacks and suitcases were pictured getting into taxis outside the centre.

One man said it felt “fantastic” to leave quarantine and added that he was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed again.

Paul Walkinshaw, 39, from Manchester, left with wife, Lihong, 33. He said: “It feels fantastic to leave, although it feels weird not having to wear a mask and gloves in public.

“The first thing I’m going to do when I get home is sleep in my own bed.”

Professor Keith Willett, NHS strategic incident director, thanked those leaving “for the very responsible compliance they have shown during their time in self-isolation”.

All tested negative for coronavirus three times during their stay and pose no risk of infection to the public, said NHS England said. It added that the training and conference centre has been professionally cleaned and will be back to business as usual from next week.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock commended the group “for their patience and perseverance”.

Meanwhile, Britons in Cambodia who left another cruise ship, the Westerdam, have also received Government help to return home and are being advised to self-isolate for 14 days when they get back to the UK.

More than 77,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed across the world, the majority of which are in China.

World Health Organisation statistics on Saturday showed there had been more than 2,400 deaths in China and 11 elsewhere.