Two Diamond Princess cruise ship passengers dead as evacuated Australians arrive in Darwin

Two passengers who contracted the coronavirus on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship have died.

An 87-year-old Japanese man and an 84-year-old Japanese woman have been confirmed dead. Both of the deceased reportedly had pre-existing health conditions.

The sad news comes as a Qantas flight carrying Australians from the Diamond Princess cruise ship has touched down in Darwin.

The 170 Australians on the evacuation flight which has just landed in Darwin will spend the next two weeks in quarantine.

Zarisha Bradley, Nine News reporter in Darwin, said the passengers will be isolated at the former Inpex workers’ site in Howard Springs.

“It’s fully decked out. There’s cabins there for them to stay in, there’s a pool, there’s a basketball court. There’s so many facilities for them,” she told Tom Elliott.

More than 600 people from the ship have the virus, including 47 Australians.

At least 2,126 people have now died from the virus.

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Image: Tomohiro Ohsumi / Stringer