Coronavirus: US citizens rescued from cruise ship as Britons say they’ve been ‘abandoned’

British citizens trapped on a cruise ship rife with coronavirus may be quarantined in Japan, it emerged on Sunday as they accused the Foreign Office of abandoning them.

Ministers are resisting pressure to immediately repatriate the 78 Britons onboard after the US, Canada, Hong Kong, South Korea and Italy stepped up efforts to rescue their respective passengers.

Thousands of people have been quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise liner of the Japanese port of Yokohama following an outbreak of the deadly illness.

At least 355 people aboard the cruise are infected, making it the largest cluster of coronavirus cases outside of mainland China.

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