Diamond Princess evacuations begin as China announces death toll in country up to 1,665

Hundreds of Americans have been flown out of Japan after leaving the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan on Sunday night, as a further 70 people onboard tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total to 355.

The removal of US citizens from the ship, moored at Yokohama, south of Tokyo, came as other countries said they would fly their citizens home just four days before the official quarantine set by Japanese health authorities was set to end.

The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the Wuhan coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine.