Seventy-eight Brits on coronavirus quarantine cruise ship face being left behind as US airlifts 380 citizens to safety
BRITS trapped on a coronavirus-ravaged cruise face being left behind - despite the US airlifting all their citizens to safety.
The 78 Brits have been stranded on the liner since it docked in Japan on February 3 after an outbreak of the deadly virus.
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There are now 285 cases on board the luxury cruise - jumping by 67 in the last three days - with 3,500 passengers confined to their cabins.
Two US State Department-chartered planes
Pressure is now being piled on the UK government to rescue Brits stuck on board - but no repatriation efforts have been confirmed.
A source told the the Foreign Office is "actively considering all options" after it emerged three of those infected are Brits.
One desperate couple, David and Sally Abel, have even appealed to billionaire Richard Branson to send a plane to rescue them.
An Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are urgently speaking to authorities in Japan and the UK.
"We are working around the clock to ensure the welfare of the British nationals on board."
US citizens being flown home will have to spend a further 14 days in quarantine.
Paul and Cheryl Molesky, from New York are among those being rescued tomorrow.
She told Sky News: "We are relieved but we're still a little bit shocked.
"We found out that we're going to have to be quarantined for an additional 14 days in the United States, so there's some mixed emotions there."
There were initially 3,700 passengers trapped on board but some have been taken off the cruise in Yokahoma to be treated for the killer bug.
PLAGUE SHIP
Those who remained on the ship were told their quarantine would be over on February 19 after the official two-week isolation period.
But the captain is now said to have told passengers a "new testing process" will be starting on Tuesday that could take several days - casting doubt on the timeline.
Anyone who has been in close contact with a confirmed coronavirus case would have to restart the quarantine process, according to reports.
Passengers on the MS Westerdam were yesterday allowed to disembark in Cambodia after being shunned in multiple other ports amid coronavirus fears.
DEATH TOLL RISES
It comes as the grisly death toll today rose to 1,527 after a Chinese tourist died in Paris, France - the first person to be killed by the disease in Europe.
The 80-year-old man died after spending two weeks in intensive care in the French capital.
He had arrived in France on January 16 from virus-ridden Hubei - home to coronavirus ground zero Wuhan.
Nine confirmed cases have been treated in the UK so far - with just one left in hospital, NHS England confirmed.
And the last of those in quarantine at Arrowe Park in the Wirral have been released after returning to Britain from Wuhan.
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But more than 100 still remain in isolation at Kents Park Hill Hotel in Milton Keynes.
As of Friday, a total of 2,964 people have been tested in the UK, of which 2,955 were confirmed negative.
NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said on Thursday that many more people in the UK may need to self-isolate to contain the illness, which has been officially named Covid-19.
