CORNWALL, Ontario – The quarantine of 129 Canadians repatriated from Japan is scheduled to end on Friday, March 6.

The patients were passengers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, currently docked near Yokohama, Japan. The passengers were placed in a 14 day quarantine as a precaution after hundreds of other passengers aboard the ship were diagnosed with Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The quarantine began on Friday, Feb. 21 and included the flight crew and medical personnel who travelled with the 129 patients from Japan. Public Health Agency of Canada announced earlier this week that those additional patients had been released from the quarantine.

“I have authorized the release of 15 flight crew members who accompanied the returning travellers on the third Canada-chartered flight from Japan to CFB Trenton to the NAV CENTRE in Cornwall, Ontario,” said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Officer of Health. “In my assessment, I took into account the fact that they followed appropriate infection prevention and control protocols (including the use of personal protective equipment), and that they did not have unprotected contact with passengers or persons at risk of having the novel coronavirus. As a result of this assessment, I have determined that their continued quarantine is not required.”

According to an update issued by the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) yesterday, Feb. 27, so far none of the patients in the quarantine have tested positive for COVID-19.