MADURAI: The Indian embassy in

on Tuesday asked Indian crew

onboard the Diamond Princess, the cruise ship quarantined at

port after several patients tested positive for

infection (COVID-19), to be ready to be airlifted in a chartered

on Wednesday.

The flight has been “tentatively scheduled” for February 26 evening, said the advisory, a copy of which is available with

TOI

. Pre-disembarkation

is expected to start around 2pm on

All

members were sent emails about the evacuation, along with the terms and conditions of the process, eight days after they were given forms that asked them to convey if they were interested in premature de-boarding from the ship before the expiry of the mandatory quarantine period in Japan. Those who have not filled in the forms would have to fill them before 10am on

The advisory also states only those who have not tested positive in the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, conducted by Japanese authorities, would be

Upon arrival in India, the evacuated crew members would to be put in mandatory 14-day quarantine. A crew member, who did not want to be named, expressed concern over this. “We have been quarantined in the ship from February 4. On February 17, we were given forms for leaving the ship with the condition that we would have to undergo 14 days quarantine on reading India,” he said. “But Wednesday will be nine days after we submitted the forms. So an additional 14 days from Thursday will make it a total quarantine of 37 days. The government should consider this and reduce the quarantine period in India,” he

The embassy tweeted on Tuesday that PCR test results for all Indian nationals have been declared and two more tested positive, taking the total to

Wednesday.Wednesday.evacuated. Repatriation is subject to clearing the mandatory check-up by an Indian medical team, the advisory said. It added that individuals should also follow instructions by officials of the Indian government, aircraft crew and medical personnel on board the flight and are requested to wear face mask during the entire process.Stating that transportation from Yokohama port to Haneda airport would be by road, the embassy’s note added that the vehicle would not be allowed to stop anywhere during the 20km journey.added.16.