By Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe government is negotiating with Japanese officials to arrange the evacuation of Taiwanese passengers quarantined on a cruise ship off the coast of Yokohama, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection on the ship have been rapidly increasing since then. Two Taiwanese passengers who had been confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Japan for treatment, it said. “We have been discussing evacuation plans with Japanese authorities,” said Chen, who heads the CECC. The move is in response to the spread of the virus in the two countries, the CECC said.

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