Dozens of Britons who spent two weeks isolated on a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship in Japan have arrived at the UK hospital where they will be quarantined.

Evacuees from the Diamond Princess got to Arrowe Park Hospital - where they will spend another two weeks - just before 6pm after landing back in the country on Saturday morning.

One passenger among the 30 Britons and two Irish citizens made a heart sign with her hands while another gave an "okay" signal through a coach window.

Image: The coaches carrying cruise ship passengers arrive at Arrowe Park Hospital

They will undergo medical checks in an accommodation block separate from the main hospital building in Wirral.

Three coaches carried passengers wearing masks and medical professionals in white hazmat suits.


There was also a fourth bus without passengers, two ambulances and several police motorbikes.

Arrowe Park's chief executive, Janelle Holmes, said the new arrivals would be "safe, well-managed and comfortable".

Image: Thirty-two people were said to be on board the repatriation flight

The evacuees took off from Haneda airport in Tokyo late on Friday and landed at Boscombe Down Ministry of Defence base near Salisbury, Wiltshire.

They all tested negative for COVID-19 before they flew.

The flight also had British government and medical staff on board, the Foreign Office said.

It comes as Italy reported its second death from coronavirus, amid fears the viral outbreak could have an impact on the worldwide economy.

Image: The passengers are escorted by police to Arrowe Park Hospital

Among the Britons who spent two weeks in isolation on the Diamond Princess were Alan and Vanessa Sandford.

They were kept in their room after hundreds of cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on board.

Some 634 passengers and crew caught the SARS-like illness on the ship - comprising more than half the confirmed cases outside China.

Image: Some of the repatriated passengers made heart gestures from the bus as they arrived at Arrowe Park Hospital

Mr Sandford said he understood why people might be "nervous" about those who have jetted back to the UK, but said he and his wife could not wait to be home.

He told Sky News: "I think I might struggle a bit with this second lot of 14 days.

"You can't get on with your life, everything's on hold, and I've got this certificate that says I'm negative for the virus and nobody on the aircraft is going to be anything other than negative, so it just seems excessive.

"But I understand as well that people are nervous about having people back in the country."

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Two Britons, David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, are being treated in a Japanese hospital after being diagnosed with the virus. It emerged today that Mr Abel has pneumonia.

In a Facebook post, Mr Abel said the couple were "in the best place" and added: "See you all before we know it."

He said they would both need to test negative three times before being discharged.

In other coronavirus developments:

Mainland China had 397 new confirmed cases on Friday, down from 889 on Thursday - the lowest number since the National Health Commission started compiling nationwide data a month ago. It has now reported 75,569 cases and 2,239 deaths

17 people have now died outside the mainland: six in Iran, two in Hong Kong, two in Italy, two in South Korea, two from the Diamond Princess cruise liner, one each in France, Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan

South Korea on Saturday reported an eight-fold jump in viral infections in four days to 433

A total of 5,885 people in the UK have been tested, of which 5,876 were confirmed negative and 9 positive

Protesters in Ukraine attacked buses carrying evacuees from China to a hospital after a fake email wrongly claimed some had already contracted the virus

attacked buses carrying evacuees from China to a hospital after a fake email wrongly claimed some had already contracted the virus The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the global economy will be among the topics for discussions among G20 financial leaders during their talks in Riyadh this weekend

World Health Organisation analysis has found that, of those people who get coronavirus, around 80% have milder symptoms, around 20% become serious or critical, and 2% die

Meanwhile, passengers aboard another cruise ship in Cambodia have been cleared to travel home.

Britons on the Westerdam, who all tested negative for the virus, are said to be receiving health advice and help with booking flights.