By Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced the nation’s 23th confirmed case of COVID-19 and said that Taiwanese passengers on the virus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan, would likely return home on a charter flight tomorrow. There were 24 Taiwanese passengers and crew on board, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Ho Chi-kung (何啟功) said. Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday confirmed that CAL is ready to dispatch a charter flight to Yokohama to bring back Taiwanese from the Diamond Princess. “It has been confirmed that the charter flight will depart from Tokyo Haneda International Airport. The charter flight can land either at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport or Taipei International Airport [Songshan airport],” he said.

Source: Taipei Times February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC