The Federal Government says Canadian passengers aboard a cruise ship, facing a COVID-19 outbreak, will be repatriated and taken back to CFB Trenton to be quarantined for 14 days.
Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says the Grand Princess will be docking in Oakland Tuesday and a plane has been chartered to bring the Canadian passengers home, once they have been screened and show no signs of the Coronavirus or its symptoms.
The plane is expected to arrive in Trenton early on Wednesday morning.
Minister of Health Patty Hajdu says if cruise ship passengers show signs of the virus before boarding the plane, they will have to stay in the U.S. and be cared for by health care professionals there.
Globally there are now over 110,000 cases in 100 countries, with 71 confirmed and presumptive cases nationally, 34 of those in Ontario.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam says most of the Canadian cases have been confirmed in travellers, along with a couple of cases at a long-term care home in BC.
Dr. Tam is also recommending that all Canadians avoid all cruise line travel due to COVID-19 and says that while generally the risk to Canadians does remain low, “that could change”.
